Jumping
by tenkage onna
Summary: On his way home from the airport, Yamato and Lune hit a child. However, no one remembers the incident! Not to mention the strange boy they hit returns, seeking Yamato's help to stop a galactic war that threatens everything he holds dear. AU yaoi
1. Chapter 1

i REALLY shouldnt be starting another fic....i mean seriously, i have like, 80 that i need to finish. but wtf, why not. it might just be worth it XD twas inspired by my friend pikablue, alien, and dissecting a starfish. very strange day XD but anywayz...

warning: ooc, crack, AU, yaoi, cursing, and the abuse of alien stories.  
inspiration: song wise; "pick u up" by adam lambert.  
reasons: i wanted to be original~ (shot)  
rating: pg-13 for now.  
pairing: primarily, it shall be yamato/ultimo, with others strewn about.  
summary: on his way home from the airport, yamato and lune hit a child. however, no one remembers the incident! not to mention the strange boy they hit returns, seeking yamato's help to stop a galactic war that threatens everything he holds dear. somehow along the way, boundaries are crossed and minds are efficiently fucked over by a prophecy that yamato cant help but feel is sketchy...  
disclaimer: not mine, never shall beee!

i swear it'll be more interesting than it seems~!! 8D hopefully, you'll enjoy it as i churn it out in between other ultimo updates i manage to complete.

0000000000

All had been going fine until that accursed light had come on. Snapping awake from his light sleep, the redhead jumped upon seeing the blaring red light of the emergency backup lights, the shrill scream of the sirens making his head ring. His eyes widened, the faint red glow amidst the neon green shrinking in horror. Uru sat forward, a large -almost far too awkwardly so- hand propping him up over the dashboard that was filled with lights and keys.

Intruder.

Scanning the screen over and over again, Uru fought the growing panic. How had an intruder come aboard? Had the docks been opened? Quickly, his large glossy fingers swept over the keys, not once missing as he watched the screen, a firm frown on his face. A large see through screen appeared, data in a foreign language scrolling down the side as it relayed the camera's video footage through out the ship.

The docks were open, smashed in violently, the edges charred and softened. A ship that hadn't been there before hovered on the other side of the connecting passageway, the clear passageway showing signs of tampering.

"What...? Who would-" he started, before the ship gave a sharp and steady jerk, the metal beneath his feet quaking and groaning.

Uru had little time to think before the ship went spiraling from his control, cackling filling the intercom.

000

The moon shown brightly over the neighborhood, illuminating the houses and fields just enough for one to find their way without walking into traffic. Which, to be honest, wasn't much at this hour, consisting mainly of one car that sped down the roads, uncaring of the speed limit. Inside, the driver tapped the wheel to the sound of music, which blared just a little too loudly.

He was a tall one, with sharp eyes and angles. Wind from the open window blew his short but unruly black hair around, partially obscuring his vision. Next to him, was a far shorter boy, who clutched his seatbelt in a death grip, looking ready to be ill. He had fair hair, long and messed only by the wind from the other side of the speeding car, and was fighting back the urge to scream.

"C-CANT WE SLOW DOWN?" he yelled over the music, glancing away from the road momentarily.

"WHAT?" the other yelled back, not sparing the blond a glance.

Eye twitching, Lune tried again. "I SAID, CANT WE SLOW D-...Y'know what..." he leaned forward, flicking the volume to the radio off. Heaving a sigh, he mumbled, "Much better..."

The brunette made a face. "Geez, you always gotta do this when its something _I_ wanna listen to..."

"I just wanted to talk without screaming..." the blond mumbled.

Yamato rolled his eyes, and settled for a musicless ride for the moment. "What is it you wanted?"

"I was asking if you could slow down...The speed limit is forty miles, and we're pushing seventy..."

"Its not like anyones out. Besides, I wanna get back home soon..." he replied.

Lune's frown softened, as he could understand. They'd been away from home for so long on an overseas visit. He himself missed his own bed rather than his distant family, but he knew Yamato missed his mother. Above all, Yamato missed the girl he'd crushed on since grade school, another reason he was antsy to get home. Lune refrained from mentioning that Sayama was on vacation as well, and wouldn't be back till summer ended.

But still..."Even so, I'd prefer you slow down...I keep seeing my life flash before my eyes. And thats just from the thought of you wrecking my father's car..."

The brunette scowled, and turned his focus on the blond. "I'll have you know I'm a DAMN good driver! That ridiculous delivery job payed off. Have some faith in me-"

"YAMATO, STOP!!!"

He turned his attention back to the road just in time to see a figure limp onto the blacktop. "HOSHIT!" he swore, swerving the car to avoid the person, who had frozen up. The side scraped along their hip, sending the person flying any way. Yamato slammed on the brakes, the car skidding to a halt a few dozen feet down the road and off the curb.

For a long moment, both boys counted their blessings that they hadn't smashed into a tree, which was only a mere three feet away. The sound of the car's engine shuddering, and their belongings in the backseat and trunk settling after the sharp turn, were the only sounds present. In the passenger seat, Lune looked like his heart just stopped, before his face turned green, and he flung open the door. Yamato almost found it funny to see his friend wrestle with the seatbelt clip before he lost his cookies. It'd be more amusing if he himself didn't want to barf.

Once the sound of retching quieted down, Lune heaved a shuddering groan, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. Glancing to his right, he could make out the form of something laying on its side through the haze of sickness. His heart restopped, and he thought he'd be sick. He didn't want to even look at his car -nay, his FATHER'S car- to see what damage had been done, or check for a pulse on whoever they'd hit.

The opposite door swung open with a creak, Yamato stumbling out after a moment. He stared at the unmoving figure, debating the same thing Lune had been. Swallowing, the brunette made his way to the road, wary of oncoming cars or witnesses. As he came closer, he began to make out details, such as that it was a small child, with bushy burgundy hair. He was laying on his side, eyes closed tightly and lower limp clamped between his teethe. His shoulders rose quickly, sharp breaths hissing between his teethe.

"Its a kid..." he whispered to himself, squatting down to get a better look at the boy.

Behind him, he heard the unsteady footsteps of Lune, who was calling his name nervously. Once the blond stopped, he'd heard a sharp intake of air, before a quiet "Holy shit...we killed a child...!"

"No, he's still breathing..." Yamato corrected, relieved and frightened by this.

They just watched the boy gasp for breath, unsure of what to do. If they took him to a hospital, they could be charged...but if they ran, it'd be a hit and run, far worse than the previous. That wasn't even including the trauma it'd cause Yamato if he left a kid to die.

"What do we do...?" Lune whispered, pale.

Glancing up, Yamato felt his throat close up. "We...save him, what else?"

The dam broke inside the panicking blond. "But what will we say? This could be charged as murder if he doesn't make it!! What if his parents sue, or we get charged for kidnapping or-"

Yamato fought the urge to slap his friend. "Listen! If we just leave him, he'll die. And we're closer to a hospital anyway, so if we hurry, maybe it'll be okay!" he snapped, keeping his voice down as best as he could, trying to explain logic he hadn't exactly perfected.

"Shouldn't we just call an am- Yamato, don't touch him!" the blond cried, horrified as he watched the brunette lift up the child.

"Would you shut up?" he snapped, stumbling under the unexpected weight of the child. He regained his balance shortly, and turned towards Lune. The blond stared up at him, making a face. "What?"

"Go clear the backseat."

"Are you CRAZY!?"

"Do I LOOK like I'm in the mood for that sort of accusation!"

Lune looked torn between morals and the knowledge that blood stained. Hanging his head, the blond hurried away, whining to himself. "My father will KILL me..."

The trek back to the car was awkward and long, and Yamato wondered if maybe he'd hit a cow instead of a child. Why was he so HEAVY? Glancing down at the fitful expression that laced the boy's face, Yamato wondered if he'd be okay. His shirt was caked in blood, frighteningly warm. The boy himself felt soft save for the sharp angles of his shoulders, and chilly against his chest.

Waiting anxiously by the backseat door, Lune shifted from foot to foot, watching his friend. In the light of the car's interior, the child's hair glowed a bright red rather than burgundy. Lune's eyes widened and he gaped like a fish as he noticed the large, ornately decorated gauntlets the child wore. "What are THOSE?"

Yamato made a face, settling the kid in the backseat carefully. "I dunno. C'mon, hurry, get in. You make sure he don't roll off the seat or something." he ordered, hurrying around the side of the car.

"Whaaat? Yamato, he's BLEEDING and-"

"Hurry up or I'm leavin!"

The blond groaned, scowling at the redhead. Mumbling quietly to himself, he carefully lifted the boy up, and slid under. He settled the boy's head back in his lap, and wished he could buckle himself in after this incident. Instead, he grabbed the boy's shoulders and side as Yamato backed the car up sharply, drawing forth a hiss from the boy. He winced, but didn't let go of the injured boy's side until Yamato was speeding off down the road. Even then, Lune kept a firm hold on the redhead's shoulders.

000

"Should we stay...?"

Watching the boy be carted off through the hospital doors, Yamato bit his lip. He felt gross with the caked blood on his shirt, but there wasn't any blood on him. Still, he felt SOMETHING, even if it wasn't red. Lune was in a similar position, his hands covered with the almost translucent green liquid. Under the acrid lights of the small hospital, the redhead had appeared unharmed, perfectly fine even.

"I dunno..." the brunette admitted.

Faced with the situation at hand, neither boy was sure WHAT to do. After a moment of indecision, the blond sighed heavily but shortly, and took a few quick steps to a chair and plopped in it. It was hard and uncomfortable, but he couldn't take the stress at the moment. Yamato followed after casting the double doors the redhead had gone through one final look.

They stayed in those chairs for a long while, drifting off every now and then. It was late after all, and the stress had left them both drained.

00000000

the first chapter to the cracktastic mindfuck that will be this fic~!

omake!

lune: holy shit...we killed a child D8  
yamato: quick! help me hide the body!  
lune: what!?  
yamato: COME ON!! D8

lune: holy shit we killed a child D8  
yamato: no, we didnt...isnt that a bummer )8;; now we cant hide it...

yamato: clear off the backseat! you get in there to.  
lune: this is the LAST person i wanted in my lap in the backseat...(glares at uru)

lune: yamato, dont touch him! D8 y'dont know where he's BEEN!  
yamato: (drops uru) D8;;  
uru: OHGAWDMYKIDNEY;A;

i cease nao =w=


	2. Chapter 2

AHA!!! the next chapter....of JOYness! 8DD and perhaps cheese.

warning: AU, ooc perhaps, crackiness and oooone bad word.  
inspiration: "master plan" by adam lambert  
rating: T  
disclaimer: never gonna be mine~ plz dont sue!

aaand onward!

00000000

Light pitter pattering footsteps echoed through the corridors, the swish of heavy fabric trailing close behind. Uru dove through the doors, looking around warily. Behind him, the ER doors swished back and forth, finally closing on the image of bodies of doctors and nurses strewn about the room. He hadn't killed them, that wouldn't have been wise. He blinked, a bright red eating away the green of his eyes. They looked through the walls, just barely able to see an open window a few doors down.

The sprint to the door -a mere ten feet away- was long and nerve wracking.

000

A hand roughly jarred Yamato awake, breaking him away from his happy dreams of a normal, jail free life with Sayama. Blinking quickly, he hissed as light blinded him. He scrubbed at his eyes, blinking more before he processed the situation. In front of him was a nurse, who looked confused as well as annoyed. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, a frown etched across her chubby face.

"Sir, may I ask what you and your friend are doing here?" she asked, jumping to the point.

Yamato stared at her oddly, "Whadda ya mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Is there a reason you're sleeping here? You aren't checked in or anything."

"Huuuh?" he said, making a face.

Shifting in his seat, Lune cracked open an eye. He had been peacefully sleeping, propped against Yamato's shoulder. "Whats going on...?"

Glancing down at the other, the brunette wasn't sure if he should be relieved that his friend was awake. At least now he wouldn't look weird talking to a nurse about this. "She's sayin we never signed in."

Adjusting his glasses, the blond frowned. "Eh? But we were forced to when we brought in that boy."

Yamato shot the woman a triumphant look. "See? You heard him."

The nurse shifted her weight to her left leg, crossing her arms irritably. Her pose made Yamato's confidence falter a little. "What boy? No one has come in all night."

The two boys stared at her funny. No one had come in? But someone had! Yamato scowled, annoyed and unnerved by the statement. Next to him, Lune had a similar expression, though he chose to voice his thoughts. "But miss...we brought a small child in! He had red hair? And we hit h-"

"Are you tryin to tell me you have no record of him?" the brunette snapped, half to overshadow his friend's foul-up.

Casting Yamato a dark look, the nurse stood up straighter. "You shouldn't interrupt a lady when she speaks, young man! And NO, no small child ever came in. I don't know what drugs you two have been smoking, but nothing of the sort has happened. Now, kindly leave or sign in." she finished, turning and walking away to mutter behind her desk.

Yamato mimicked her, which would have drawn forth an amused reaction, if Lune wasn't sulking. His head hung down, a shadow cast across his eyes. "A girl...why is it always a girl!" he muttered darkly.

The brunette paid him no mind, more focused on what had just transpired. He was CERTAIN they'd brought in a child, one who had looked ready to die before they'd gotten to the hospital. That nurse has to be wrong, he thought. His shirt was still caked in that liquid, which was now a crusty green. Glancing over the blond, Yamato fought back a laugh, a snort breaking through. Lune glanced over, the gloom from the gender confusion still clinging.

"What?" he mumbled, eye twitching.

"You look like you fucked a Chia Pet."

Lune stared at Yamato in disgust, then looked at his shirt -a white dress shirt even- and groaned. It was covered in bright green SOMETHING, the color reminiscent to neon glow sticks. "Great...just great." he glared at Yamato, who had broken out into snickers once he'd made his comment. "I'm glad its so funny! Ugh, what the hell is this anyway...?" he complained, poking at the green stains daintily.

"I dunno." the brunette replied, reeling in his amusement. "Its all over me to."

The blond frowned deeper. "You don't suppose maybe its...his blood, do you?"

Shooting his friend an amused look, the other shook his head. "Or maybe we really DID get into some drugs last night. People don't bleed green, Lune."

Lune made a face. "I don't do drugs. And your mother would kill you for even insinuating you do."

Yamato rolled his eyes, settling back into silence. The green stains were suspicious, he had to admit. And he knew he hadn't imagined last night, there was no way he imagined carrying a half dead child into his best friend's car. And what was that nurse talking about? Did they look like they had money for drugs? Well, Lune did, but he was rich and a prude. Yamato doubted he'd ever done anything past that dare to sneak a drink from his dad's wine cellar.

"AHEM."

Snapping back to reality, he met the annoyed gaze of the nurse from before. She glared over her desk at them, and he glared back. After a moment, he stood and stretched, his muscles complaining from the long and uncomfortable nights' rest. Yamato made his way to the double glass doors that marked the exit, Lune following closely behind.

Sure enough, there was a dent in the car's hood. It was decently large, and on the driver's side, and splatters of green dotted the neat paint job. Lune had a panic attack quietly, fretting over his imminent death by his father's hands when the man saw the dent. Yamato took a little comfort in it though. It meant he hadn't been imagining anything. Slipping into the driver's seat, he sighed and relaxed against the softer back.

Lune sat down, buckling himself in quietly and frowning deeply still. Minutes passed, and when Yamato showed no signs of starting up the car, the blond heaved a sigh. "Yamato? Come on, lets go."

He got no response. Fighting the urge to just get out and walk the remaining fifty miles home, Lune slumped in his seat moodily. The minutes passed quietly, slowly driving the blond crazy. But at the same time, he could understand why his friend was so out of it.

"We didn't imagine it." Yamato mumbled at last. He spoke slowly, as if confirming it mentally.

"No. We didn't." Or else there wouldn't be a dent in my car, the blond thought bitterly.

The brunette was quiet again, and Lune was sure they'd be here all morning at this rate. He was surprised to hear the engine hum to life. He blinked quickly, glancing over at the other male.

"Right then." he hummed, looking relieved.

000

BEEP!!!

BEEP!!!

BEE-

A hand smashed the button down roughly after a few gropes, silencing the sound. The small bedroom was quiet, save for the muffled groans from under a thick and battered comforter. The sun poured in through a window, despite the blinds that were pulled down and twisted shut. A long moment passed, the seconds of quiet doing more to unnerve Yamato than to lull him back to sleep. At last, he kicked off the comforter, a task that seemed more difficult than it really should be. Sitting up and swinging his legs around and over the bed groggily, the brunette let out another groan at the blaring sunlight.

His alarm clock read a cheery six AM, and after seeing the time, he forced himself to move. It had been a full week since the incident with the vanishing redhead. After they'd made it home, Yamato and Lune had promised not to mention their crime to anyone else, and life had resumed. The redhead and his green liquid had began to fade from thought. Of course, Lune's father had been pissed, and that was the sole reminder of what had transpired that humid summer night.

The green stained shirt was cleaned of all remains of the boy, and school was starting back up today. Yamato couldn't help but feel relieved and excited, because it meant the bordem would cease and he could see his beloved Sayama again. Little else mattered to him at present. The brunette opened his closet, retrieving his uniform and padded from the room tiredly.

As he readied a quick shower, he couldn't help but wonder suddenly. Where HAD the redhead gone? He wouldn't lie, he WAS curious. Not only did his conscience demand and answer, but so did his curiosity. Though, maybe it was best Yamato didn't know. Nothing good came from pursuing an answer that obviously didn't want to be found. Besides, getting involved with anything too weird could threaten his dream of a peaceful and happy life with Sayama...and he'd be damned before THAT was thrown away for curiosity's sake.

The warm water helped wake Yamato up. Life felt just a tiny bit better after a shower it seemed. He couldn't help but have high hopes for the first day of school this year. Humming quietly to himself, the brunette exited the bathroom, clean and dressed with a decent outlook for the day. All that was left to do before he left for school, was to retrieve his briefcase.

Said bag was located innocently against his desk, the material worn and well loved and marked up with marker. It had been with him for only two years now, but it had endured quite a bit. He strolled over to it, head full of thoughts of Sayama and boring lectures that would take up his time as he leaned forward to grab the bag.

"I found you!"

Yamato froze up, staring at his bag blankly. Was that...a voice? A child's voice? Blinking quickly, the brunette tried to decide whether or not to believe it was real. It must be a lack of sleep, he thought. But hadn't he gotten a full eight hours sleep? He'd never hallucinated before!

"Well, aren't you a rude one Agari Yamato...I came ALL the way here, and you ignore Uru?" the voice huffed, a definite pout in the words.

Uru? What the hell? Yamato stood up quickly, spinning to his window to meet the gaze of a familiar redhead. More than familiar actually, because Yamato knew him as the green blooded small child he'd hit with a car going nearly seventy five miles per hour. And he was sitting comfortably on his window sill, clearly alive and well, and POUTING at him.

It seemed the answer had sought him out, instead of the other way around.

0000000

GASP. you totally shoulda seen this coming D8 so fast paced to...ah wellz.

omake!

uru: i hafta be sly like a ninja! skillful like a warrior! as silent as a gerbil! as- (trips and falls and accidentally shatters a vase next to the babies ward)...dammit all ;A;

nurse: you shouldnt interrupt a lady-  
lune: I'M NOT A GIRL ;A; WHY DO PEOPLE THINK I AM! WOULD A GIRL BE THIS FLAT AND MANLY!  
yamato: you're manly?  
lune:...stfu ;~;

uru: (scaling the apartments) o-okay...cannot look down. cannot look down.....(looks down and whines) maybe mom was right...i shoulda been a doctor....


	3. Chapter 3

warnings: ooc, AU, cracky and abuse of alien movies D8  
inspiration: "music again" by adam lambert and "what do ya want from me" by adam lambert~  
rating: G  
disclaimer: stiiiiiiiiiiiiiill aint mine~

onward!! OH before i go any further...uru's alien design was created and colored and all by my dear friend pikablue, otherwise known as kurai okami. i dont know if i gave it justice, but its awesome like a possum! so plz thank her, for she made it.

00000000

Eyes locked, one amused and the other shocked. No one moved for a long while, the sunlit room tense and thick with anticipation. Before Yamato, was the boy he swore he killed a week ago, perfectly fine. He sat on the window sill, his legs engulfed in large white pants that fluffed out. A black bib was tied in neat loops around his torso, everything but his chest bare. His arms were slim and only slightly muscled, engulfed at the lower arm by large ornately decorated gauntlets.

Large green eyes watched Yamato, curiously analyzing his form and tense frame. After a moment, the boy -Uru, he had called himself- hopped down from the window sill. He was just barely up to Yamato's waist, and thin and wiry. He took a step forward, and the brunette stumbled backwards.

Uru blinked. "Whats wrong?"

Yamato wasn't sure where to start. "You...I swore you were- What are you doing here!?" he sputtered, voice raising in pitch.

The redhead smiled widely, and tilted his head. "You swore I was dead? I would have been, if Uru hadn't stumbled upon you and your friend. If it weren't for you, Uru would never have come in contact with our Lady." he explained, eyes twinkling. "I wish I had met her..." he sighed, pouting.

"Your Lady? What are you-"

"I cant go into any detail." Uru cut the older boy off, then continued. "If Uru did, he could be killed for treason~." he said in all seriousness, his wide smile spooking Yamato.

Treason? What the hell? What was going on! The redhead slowly glanced around the room, the green of his eyes slightly eaten up by a red tint. Yamato felt oddly self conscious. His room wasn't overly messy, but the items that littered it made him feel silly. A toy race car, a whole shelf dedicated to manga, a toy cat tied to his lamp string. It was all from when he was younger, but still. Finally, Uru's eyes settled on Yamato, something dancing in their depths that the brunette didn't recognize. It made a chill run up his spine.

"However," he began, voice lit carefully, instantly drawing the taller male's attention. "Uru could explain SOME of it, if Yamato agreed to make a contract."

"A contract?" Yamato reiterated, his stomach sinking.

"Yes. Sign your life over, and maybe Uru can save you and your home from imminent destruction." he explained easily, as if forecasting the weather.

Yamato stared at the redhead incredulously. "And if I said no...?" who would agree to such a shady proposition anyway?

"Then Uru would be responsible for wiping your memory."

"My memory...?"

"And," Uru continued on, oblivious to the displeased teen. "Yamato would surely be hunted down anyway by my enemy. And he wouldn't be so kind as to let you refuse."

A long bout of silence followed the sentence. The level of seriousness, and the lack of a smile unnerved Yamato greatly. Uru's enemy? Wiping memories? Imminent death and destruction? What the fuck was going on! He just stared, dumbstruck and horrified at the seemingly unfazed child. Uru stared back, eyes searching Yamato's for a reaction. He was oddly tense, possibly the first time he had been the whole time he'd been there.

"What...do you mean hunted?" Yamato asked carefully, unsure if he wanted to know. "When? By who?"

"Uru cant answer that unless you sign the contract." the redhead said solemnly.

Somehow, that answer just grated on his nerves. "Listen, I don't wanna be apart of this. So can you just take your imminent death and LEAVE?" he snapped.

"Wouldn't Yamato be upset if your friend was killed, because you didn't want to help her?" Uru replied, voice equally edgy, but darkened far more.

The brunette stared at the child oddly. "My friend? What friend? Whats that got to do with anything!"

Uru sighed heavily, looking like he didn't want to explain this. "If Uru tells you, will you agree?" he asked.

"I might." Yamato replied, eyes narrowing. "Who is it?"

A long moment passed, the redhead's eye flashing quickly. Finally, the beeping red in them stopped and he hummed. "I believe you call her...Sa...Sayama?" he said, stumbling over the name.

Yamato stared at him like he was insane. Blinking quickly, Uru pouted at the expression. "What?"

"She cant be the one you're looking for." he said simply, voice deadpan.

"Why not? Our assumptions are not unfounded." the boy explained, gesturing at his right gloved hand. "She was at the hospital that night, for one thing. Our Lady can heal any of our kind within a mile radius. She's amazing, that Lady..." he sighed, eyes glittering a little. "And to think, I might have gotten to touch her!" he cooed, doing a mini dance.

The hospital? "When was she there? I didn't see her...and stop that, why do you like her so much?" Yamato snapped, unnerved.

Uru came down from his high quickly. "She was visiting a friend, who had gotten in an accident just recently." he explained, nodding. "And our Lady is an amazing person!" he cried, eyes wide, as if the mere idea that she was otherwise was ridiculous. "She is like our idol!"

"Who is "our"?" Yamato asked, unsure if he understood at all. Sure, Sayama was a wonderful girl, but an idol? It sounded like too much, even for him.

Uru tensed, blinking quickly before looking away and muttering something strange. Yamato made a face, wondering what the sounds from the boy's mouth were. At last, when he was finished with his strange clicking sounds, the redhead looked back up with a pout. "We...um...We are..."

The words thats spilled from his mouth utterly shattered Yamato's brain as he fought to comprehend them. Were they even words? A series of strange clicking and rolling r's and whooshing sounds poured from the boy, rapid fire, clearly one word. Whatever that was, Yamato didn't know. Flashbacks from his trip just a week ago hit him, and he wondered how he'd dealt with THAT.

When Uru had finished, Yamato simply stared at him. The redhead blinked, and cautiously asked, "What...?"

"What...did you just say? Whats a kiso....chu-"

"NO." Uru snapped, pouting with a mild glare. "Its..." and out came the strange k word again.

The brunette just stared, unsure of how to react. "What country does that come from?" he asked, uneasy.

Kicking absently at an article of clothing on the floor, the redhead mumbled a little to himself. "Its...from another planet, actually."

Somewhere in his mind, something cracked. Yamato stared at Uru blankly. "You mean...like...an alien?"

"Yes."

Alien. Alien. An ALIEN?! He stared at the redhead like he had ten heads, something that seemed entirely possible right then. Aliens didn't exist though, the brunette thought frantically. This was probably all just a stupid prank, a load of-

"Uru understands that it doesn't seem possible. We try not to grab attention." the redhead said, smiling a little. "But I can prove it."

And with that, Yamato swore he was insane. With deft movements, the redhead pressed a series of buttons on the large glove that covered his right hand. There was a brief staticy sound, and the change was almost instant. In the small boy's place, stood a creature that was distinctly inhuman, though not Yamato's idea of an alien. He was still small, but gained a few inches with the change, his feet digitgraded and a blushy pink.

His skin was pale, milky with hints of soft pink along his midriff and shoulders. Like wings, two bands of gold appeared from the upper part of his chest. They arched into dull spikes. Red ovals dotting the interior of the bands, and their origin remained hidden beneath the black bib Uru still wore. Down the length of his arm, softly pointed spikes jutted from his elbow. His arm ended in a smaller version of his giant gloves, save for the gold circles on each of his knuckles. From the edge of the bib, to the hem of his outdated pants, a gold band ran down the center of the redhead's abdomen. Thin wisps curved gracefully from the hem, the skin around the thick band a soft pink.

Yamato's eyes traced the thin plated tail that jutted from the boy's lower back, unable to get past the pink and green coloring, and the large feathers that surrounded the edges. From the back of his shoulders sprung thin feathers with strange symbols etched across their pristine white surfaces. Their edges were lined with black, much like his tail feathers. Dragging his eyes away from the brightly colored -pink, green and yellow- feathers that sprouted from the boy's messy red hair, Yamato forced himself to actually meet Uru's eyes.

The green in them was brighter, the same bright color lining his nose and painting his lips. On each cheek, a small gold circle lay. Uru smiled, amused by the utterly dumbstruck expression the brunette wore. "Its different than you thought, isn't it?" he teased.

Yamato continued to stare, not sure what else to say. Obviously, Uru wasn't a green tiny man, or a huge black and slick monster. If anything, he was -dare he say it?- CUTE. Pretty would be a better word for him, but Yamato refused to call a boy pretty. Under the intense scrutiny, the redhead began to tap his foot nervously, his gold nails clicking against each other softly.

"You don't need to stare." he huffed, crossing his arms. He felt like some sort of specimen...

Pointing at the boy, the brunette blinked quickly. "You aren't...green or short. Or...giant and black, and acid spitting..."

Uru made a disgusted face. "No. Uru isn't related to THEM. Those ones are horrid and repulsive, PLEASE don't compare us!" he spat, then hissed.

Yamato stared. "You just hissed. And claimed to know other aliens."

The redhead shot him a funny expression, unsure of what to make of the unstable response. Yamato plowed on, holding his head and closing his eyes. "I must be high. Maybe i ate too much toothpaste. Inst that supposed to be poisonous? Thats it then."

Uru lifted a hand, waving it slightly to get the brunette's attention. His tail swept the floor, low and swishing nervously. "U-Uh, Yamato-"

"THERES NO WAY THERES AN ALIEN STANDING IN MY BEDROOM!" Yamato yelled, finally losing it.

The redhead' antenna like feathers twitched and laid against his hair, his expression shocked and a tiny bit hurt. He bowed his head a little, not meeting the frazzled teen's gaze. Yamato calmed down slowly, shoulders tense and mind still spinning. An uneasy silence filled the room. Sighing heavily, the redhead forced himself to look back up at the brunette, heart pounding. He hoped it would work out. He needed it to.

"Maybe...Uru should give Yamato some time to think." he said at last, a small smile curving his jade lips.

Snapping from his daze, Yamato blinked quickly at the redheaded alien. "H-Huh? Wait, I-"

"Remember...if you don't agree to the contract," Uru said softly, lifting his hand to his right arm and pressing a few buttons that lined the underside. Instantly, the giant gloves returned, covering his lower arms and reverting him to a his human disguise. He smiled weakly. "Well, Yamato knows what will happen, don't you?"

Mind erasure, imminent death...Sayama's imminent death. The images came with the words, stopping Yamato's heart. "You cant be serious."

The look the otherworldly boy shot him shattered his hopes. Yamato watched the boy make his way back to the window, hopping onto the sill. He turned back to the teenager, face devoid of a smile. "You have until sunset to decide what you will. But, Uru thinks Yamato will agree, once it all settles in."

And with that, he slipped out the window. Yamato hurried to it, realizing that it was a straight three story drop from the window. However, Uru was nowhere to be seen as he peered over the ledge. All that met him was the ground and the surrounding apartments.

"He's gone..." he murmured, still peering down the wall.

Gone, but definitely real. And so was the threat, Yamato realized. Was it really a threat though? Or was it more like a promise? A warning? He didn't know. But he did know that the countdown was starting, his alarm clock's time ticking softly to six ten. Mentally, he calculated just how long he had till his mind was erased and he was killed, or his life took a very strange turn.

He had approximately six to seven hours. Yamato couldn't help but think it was too short a time span.

000

The bell chimed loudly, piercing through the conversations of the students and signaling that home room was starting. Slowly, the throng outside the building thinned, and revealed one unhappy student. Before, Yamato's hopes for a good day at school had been so high. Now, they were the least of his worries. The school building loomed before him, and somewhere in it was Sayama. Yamato couldn't help but remember the alien boy's words.

_"Wouldn't Yamato be upset if your friend was killed, because you didn't want to help her?"_

She could be killed, he thought, his stomach sinking. He watched his homeroom window, searching out the girl in question's familiar silhouette. He'd never wanted to avoid school this much, and it was purely because he didn't want to see the face of someone so important to him right then. Of course, he knew it would be pure selfishness to let her life be put in danger.

The stairs and students passed by too quickly. By the time Yamato had made it, he had felt he was firmly set in his decision. The last bell also rang the moment he stepped into the room, a relief to be honest. The room was full just about, and the teacher was late. No one was seated, opting to stand around and chat as long as possible. It helped that their teacher was kind and laid back, so there was no rush.

"Moooorniiiing~!!" a fist embedded itself into the brunette's lower belly, making him double over.

"A-Again...?!" Yamato wheezed, holding the inevitable bruise over his belly.

Oume Hibari, a small blond girl with enough spunk to make a squirrel seem mellow, grinned brightly. It wasn't that unusual for the girl -almost a master of karate- to randomly sock Yamato in the gut. "You looked down~! I thought I'd cheer you up!" she explained.

If she wasn't a girl...he thought. "Why couldn't you just be nice? Like other normal people!"

She blinked innocently. "That wasn't?"

Yamato was silently debating on hitting the girl back -why bother? She would only kick his ass, he knew from experience- when the rest of his friends gathered. Two of which were Kiyose and Akitsu, seemingly inseparable friends. While Kiyose was meek and easily flustered, Akitsu was just the opposite. She was blunt and fearless, almost to the point of rudeness. And of course, there was Lune following not too far behind the two, though he kept decently away.

But they weren't what he was focused on. Leading the small band, was Sayama, the object of Yamato's affection. She was dazzling, even on the first day back, and her smile lit up his heart. "Hello Yamato. Its been a while, hasn't it?" she greeted.

His heart just about exploded. "H-H-Has it? It didn't seem that long to me!!" he replied, his mind blanking as it always did around her.

Sayama raised an eyebrow, but laughed softly to herself. "You're so strange." she said, smiling.

Even if she'd called him strange, he couldn't help but feel all mushy inside. What kind of boy acted this way? Wasn't this sort of swooning for girls? It didn't quite matter around her. He would have said more, but the teacher had showed up. Disappointedly, the students all made their way back to the desks, cold and familiar. As class went on, Yamato almost forgot about Uru. Almost. He tried to focus on something other than the meeting later.

Yamato couldn't help but wonder where he came from. Mars? Or maybe Jupiter? Uru certainly looked like he was from mars, with his pinkish skin. And what was with that language? Yamato couldn't imagine a whole planet that spoke that.

Outside, above the building, Uru sat boredly on the roof. His ear twitched faintly, eyes half mast in boredom. He'd taken up post here, to make sure Yamato didn't run. Uru doubted the brunette would, but he wanted to be sure. He couldn't trust many people nowadays, and it made no sense to risk his life for nothing. Leaning back on his large red hands, the boy looked up at the sky.

Uru needed Yamato to say yes. If he didn't, everything would just go down the drain. And there was a reason it had to be Yamato. Closing his eyes, the redhead felt a chill go down his spine. The wait couldn't have been more nerve wracking. At least Yamato could bury himself in his work. Uru could only wait, and hope.

The lunch bell rang shrilly, snapping the classroom from the impatient haze that gripped them. Quickly, order was forgotten as everyone grouped together and began to chatter eagerly. The summer had been long, or it felt long at least. No one could bear to sit still, when they could be reliving their days and hearing about how others had. Yamato didn't want anything to do with reliving his vacation. It hadn't been bad, except for the last week of it.

As Lune took a seat closer to his friend, the brunette couldn't help but wonder if he'd also been visited by Uru. He couldn't ask though. What if he hadn't? This was probably something top secret, right?

"You seem out of it. Are...you still thinking about last week?"

Yamato looked up, blinking. "U-Uh...somethin like that."

The blond gave him a questioning look, but he pretended not to see it. "Is it still bothering YOU?"

Lune froze up, and looked away nervously. "Well...yeah. I mean...what happened? It wasn't...right or normal. What if we killed h-" Yamato shot him a look, and the blond ducked his head. "Well...what if we DID? And thats why they wouldn't tell us? We weren't family."

"He isn't dead." Yamato replied firmly, picking at his lunch. He knew Uru wasn't dead.

"How do YOU know?" Lune asked, frowning. "Did you see him again?"

"Something like that...."

""Something like that" huh. Whats that mean?" the blond mumbled, absently eating his own lunch.

Lifting a hand to rub at his forehead, Yamato sighed quietly. "Can we not talk about this? Not here."

Lune sighed heavily, giving in quickly, but clearly still upset. But what could Yamato tell him? That he'd seen him this morning, in his room? Besides, the way Uru spoke gave him the feeling that his very existence was a secret. It wouldn't be wise to talk about him. Lunch carried on quietly, though occasionally the smaller male would start talking about something or other. Yamato was sure it was mainly due to nervousness, as if he had nearly stepped on a land mine.

If only he knew.

000000

TADAAAAA 8D;; so long...ah well~ we shall carry on next chapter.

some tidbits!

digitgraded is how dogs and kitties and most four legged creatures walk. like, on the balls of their feet kinda.

acid spitting XD;; i know the original Alien's had acid blood, but i heard somewhere on youtube, that in alien vs predator (doesnt like the movie much, so i never watched) they can spit acid. i'm prolly wrong XD but eh.

mosta the chapter was meant to be more cracky than dramatic, so yeah~

omake~

uru: sa...saya...ma....sayama! *ooohh~ if only my old foreign language teacher heard me now~! i didnt even use my translator!*

yamato: wtf are you doing here? HOW did you get here?!  
uru: i scaled the building =3  
yamato:...theres...uh, a nifty invention, its called a DOOR. never hearda it?  
uru: ...was that sarcasm?

squirrel: (aims gun at oume's head) this'll teach you to outdo me....DIE D8 (misses and hits lune)...shit  
lune: OH GAWD MY ARM! (grabs side!!)

yamato: D8.....  
uru: speechless huh~? not what you expected~?  
yamato: you...you...  
uru: yes? i'm not scary, am i?  
yamato: YOU LOOK LIKE A GIRL!  
uru:....;A; (pride just SHATTERS)

and done~ =w=


	4. Chapter 4

Ooomg it updates...(shot for being so lazy) I kinda lost interest in it, but its okay now =3;; it should update more. Or I hope so XD

warnings: AU, ooc  
inspiration: "music again" by adam lambert  
rating: pg  
disclaimer: not mine, never shall be~

and onward~!

0000000000

School dragged. It was just that simple. The hours went by at a snail's pace, and Yamato wondered if it had always taken this long. Yakking teachers, whispering friends, and paranoid snippets from Lune left the brunette at his wit's end. He watched the clock's hand tick by slowly, only a few more minutes remaining until the day ended. When it ended, Yamato half dreaded and half just wanted to get over with.

The day had passed with little concern for how to answer the alien who had shown up in his bedroom. Yamato knew what he had to do, so it wasn't a big deal. He wouldn't risk Sayama's life that way, even if he wasn't sure if Uru had even been telling the truth. No, the real issue that troubled him was far different. What was going to happen to him from now on? How was any of this going to effect him?

Would he be killed? He knew things that were undoubtedly not meant to be known. He'd SEEN things he shouldn't have. Wasn't that what got him in this situation in the first place? Absently, his mind wandered more towards what Uru even was. He has to be a Martian, he thought. He was PINK, what else could he be? It felt like his thoughts were needlessly looping now. But it was all that kept him sane right now.

The bell rang shrilly, startling Yamato from his thoughts. Blinking, he glanced around at the other students, who rose at once and began to flock to the door. His stomach dropped, but he forced himself to calm down. It wasn't the end of the world -yet- and it wouldn't be. Lune hurried over to him, chattering to him excitedly. Yamato half tuned him out as he packed his things up, occasionally catching snippets.

"It felt like class would never end!" he exclaimed, stretching.

Yamato hummed in response, making his way towards the crowded door.

Lune pouted a little, annoyed with the lack of attention. He pretended not to notice, but his chatter slowed. Why talk if no one was listening? Yamato hardly noticed the change, and even then, he was too tense to question him. Not that he didn't feel bad for ignoring his friend, but he really couldn't give it much attention. The walk to the bus was uneasy, with a few random comments from Lune when it became too unbearable.

Yamato wasn't sure what he was expecting. Uru hadn't shown up and dragged him away the moment school let out, or even sent some ominous note that counted down his hours. Maybe he planted some form of a parasite in him? Glancing up at the sky, the brunette prayed for something to happen so he could calm down. Anything would work. Just so long as it stopped his pessimistic thoughts until he got home, it would be fine. The bus stop was crowded as usual, chatter filling the air like smog. It gave Yamato a headache...

"You're really weird today..."

Blinking, he looked down at the blond next to him. "Eh?"

Shifting a little, Lune frowned. "You're acting very weird. Whats wrong? Is it that boy?"

"...kinda."

"Don't be so vague-!"

"I'm just stressed, alright? A lots been going on." Yamato snapped, not needing this sort of interrogation.

Lune fell silent, still suspicious. "Uhuh..."

Yamato didn't feel the need to respond to that. Not that it kept Lune from talking, because if anything, silence only proved accusations right. "Listen, I'll drop it for now. But I'm seriously worried y'know...you haven't talked to me since last Friday, and you came back so weird. If something IS wrong, the least you could do is tell me." the blond mumbled, sulking.

Staring ahead at the bus that traveled slowly down the street, Yamato turned the words over in his mind. Lifting a hand, he pressed it to his head and sighed. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just outa it. Anyone would be, right?" he reasoned.

"I suppose...It was weird that no one remembered him, at the hospital i mean." Lune hummed, shifting from foot to foot as they waited for the bus.

Yamato hadn't ever been so happy to see the bus pull up to them in his life. It meant this conversation was almost over, and half the wait nearly gone. The two boarded the bus, taking a seat in the back as usual. No one bothered them for such a seat either, as it was so far away from the entrance. The ride was slow, but thankfully, Lune changed the topic. As the scenery passed by, Yamato wondered if he would still be able to have pointless conversations on the way to and from school after today. The thought of losing them made him strangely sick.

00000

It wasn't until hours later, after scrubbing down the house due to the stress of waiting, did Yamato realize Uru wasn't coming until sunset. Staring at the all but shining counter top, he felt like an idiot. Not that he wouldn't have fretted most of the day away anyway, had he remembered that, but it would certainly have eased some of his paranoia.

He slumped over the counter, heaving a sigh. This was ridiculous. Why was he even stressing? He knew what he was going to say, so what was the point of worrying? There was a quiet chuckle from across the room, making the brunette jump. He snapped his head up, eyes wide and startled. Staring back, was Uru, calmly standing in the middle of the room. He flashed a sweet smile.

"Why ARE you worrying then?" the redhead hummed, reciting the teen's thoughts.

He stared, unsure of what to say. It wasn't dusk yet, why was he here? Uru shrugged gently, glancing away as the red of his eyes dimmed a little. "You seemed like you wanted it over with."

Yamato didn't even question how the redhead knew what he was thinking. "Must be an alien thing..." he muttered to himself.

Uru smiled a little wider, though it was still relatively small. He ducked his head a little, unsure of whether or not he should broach the subject. But time wasn't on their side, and he knew it would be only a matter of time. "You've decided, yes?" he asked, shifting in place.

Yamato made a face. "Right to the point..."

"Uru doesn't have time to dawdle." he replied, tone amused and apologetic all at once.

"Right, right. End of all hope, I know." the brunette replied, rolling his eyes. Uru's smile vanished, not amused at how lightly the subject was taken. Yamato winced, wondering how the alien could go from amused and teasing to serious and annoyed so quickly. Fighting off the urge to bite his lip, the brunette forced himself to take this impossible situation utterly seriously. Not that he hadn't before, but now wasn't a time for sarcasm. After a moment, he replied. "Can I ask you something?"

The redhead blinked, eyes losing their annoyed gleam quickly at the cautious tone. "Of course."

Yamato hesitated, almost afraid to hear the truth. "Whats...gonna happen to me? After I do whatever it is I hafta do..."

Uru frowned a little, his eyes softening at the question. He smiled a little, trying to comfort the other, though he himself was just as uneasy. "Uru isn't sure. But I wont let anything bad happen." he promised.

Nothing bad, huh? He had to wonder, but didn't stray too far into that thought. "What do I have to do...?"

Fishing through his bib, the redhead hummed softly. Yamato couldn't help but stare, wondering why anyone would use it as a pocket of any sort, and just what was the alien even looking for? Uru let out a victorious double yuu sound, like that of a wave or a fan or maybe even a car speeding by, and removed the two large fingers he'd been searching with. In them, was a brightly glowing orb. He held it out towards Yamato.

"Take this, and keep it near you always." he said simply, voice jumpy. "If you do, no harm can come to you after the enemy is gone." he said, eyes alight with something the brunette couldn't discern.

He walked around the counter and towards the redhead, hesitant to take the strange glowing ball. Once he was close enough, the brunette held out his hand nervously, and Uru set the sphere in it carefully, as if it were a priceless treasure or an infant. It was heavy and warm in Yamato's hand, and it sent an instant shiver up the teen's arm and down his back.

Staring down at the orb, Yamato blinked quickly and shoved back the urge to sigh. "What the hell...?"

"Its what we give to those who are our comrades." Uru explained, smiling a little. "Its said that it is imbued with our Maiden's spirit, and thus able to heal any injury. So long as it is near, that is. It is priceless, and only a few exist."

"And I'm the lucky guy who gets it...? How did they decide on THAT?" Yamato mumbled, watching the twisting light within the sphere twirl and spin slowly and lovingly. It reminded him of being held by his mother as a child. He decided not to mention to Uru how clumsy he was, and how many snow globes he'd dropped to this very day.

Uru shot him a glare. "Don't you dare drop that. Its not something we can replace. Uru's already in enough trouble just for HAVING it." he snapped, a definite tinge of fear in his voice.

Yamato looked away from the ball, blinking. "What? Why?"

The redhead smiled softly, eyes darkening slightly. "Don't worry about that."

Yamato stared at Uru blankly. Don't worry? DONT WORRY!? That definitely didn't sound good! It sounded down right ominous! His thoughts were cut off by a wide yawn, and he felt his eye twitch as the redhead stretched. Uru rubbed at his eyes with an over sized finger, and if he wasn't so nerve wracked, Yamato would say it was kinda cute.

"Uru is so tiiiired..." he whined, slumping over so that his hands nearly touched the floor. "He hasn't had a proper rest in so long."

Being the chivalrous person he was, the brunette scratched at the back of his head. "If you want, you can use my room. I'll get you some spare blankets-"

"Oh, you are so kind!" the redhead cooed, genuinely grateful. "Uru will pay you back!"

Pretending he wasn't annoyed with being interrupted, Yamato mumbled. "No, its fine."

Uru shook his head firmly. "Uru will!" he didn't know how much he'd helped him out. It was more than just a bed.

Yamato didn't have the energy to argue with the redhead, deciding to let him do as he pleased. He shook his head, pocketing the strange orb, and left to fetch an extra futon. "Have you bathed at all yet?" he asked.

A blank stare and awkward shuffling were his answers. He rolled his eyes. "I take that as a no."

00000

The shower head stared back at the redhead, who watched it cautiously. His eyes could see through it and tell him various things, but they didn't seem to know how to work this strange mechanism. Yamato had shoved him into the bathroom somewhat carelessly, instructing him to leave his clothing outside the door once he was undressed. Shortly after that, he'd left, without any real instruction on what he was supposed to do.

Shivering in the cold room, Uru frowned in annoyance. It couldn't be that much different from home, right? Looking at the wall, he tilted his head as he noticed the two knobs, and the odd writing on them. One was marked with a symbol that was colored blue, the other red. As for the meanings, he didn't know. Red must mean warm, he thought. Reaching out, he turned the knob gingerly. His antenna pressed against his head, a clear sign of how nervous he was.

From the shower head came warm water, something he was delighted to say he knew of. Something in common! he thought excitedly. He ran a hand under it, smiling goofily at the feeling. Uru hadn't felt warm water in Maiden knew how long. Happily, he spun the knob again, all the way around till he couldn't anymore. In his excitement, he hadn't thought of how hot that could be.

In his bedroom, Yamato heard a shriek, and stopped what he was doing. He debated on helping the redhead, half worried that water might be toxic and acidic to the alien. The thought of a half melted small child in his bathroom sent the brunette darting for the door and down the hall. There was a long whine behind the bathroom door, and if he hadn't suddenly remembered the pile of clothing awaiting washing next to the door, Yamato would have opened it.

Instead, for his mind's safety, he knocked. "Whats wrong?" are you melting!? Please tell me you aren't! How will I explain to mom why the shower is all green!

"Its too hot!" came a muffled response.

Yamato stared at the door, and debated smacking his head against it. He hadn't told him how to use the shower..."Just turn the red knob the opposite way you turned it!" he called back.

Uru made a small hiccuping sound, and did as told. He was relieved that the water no longer burned his hand. He sighed happily. "Thank you~!!"

Whatever, the brunette thought. He pretended the awkward problem hadn't occurred, and went back to his room. He didn't get half way down the hall before Uru cried out again. He darted back to the door, this time fully expecting the boy to be melting. "What?! Whats wrong!!"

"ITS TOO COLD!"

He stared at the door. This was the person who was going to save him and his precious Sayama from imminent destruction...? His savior, an alien who seemed plenty capable of great feats, was being outmatched by a shower. He hadn't even gotten his hair wet either, he bet. If he left now, he'd probably kill himself with the soap to...

Eye twitching, the brunette sighed heavily. "Wait a second...I'll help."

0000

Later that night found the half burned and half frozen alien happily sitting on Yamato's bed. He'd been given over sized pajama's and was hugging a pillow as he watched the human sit at his desk. He'd told him it was something called homework, not entirely unknown to Uru. His feathery antenna and pointy ear twitched lazily at the sound of a pencil scratching paper. The sound almost lulled him to sleep.

Yawning widely, he debated laying back onto the bed and sleeping. It was so comfortable...And as thoughtful as the futon has been, Uru wasn't sure he could stand another night on the ground. His tail was curled around him, the feathers shielding his feet. They fluttered a little as he wagged the tip of his tail. The sound of the feathers almost drove Yamato up a wall.

The brunette stared at his half finished homework, tapping the pencil against the paper. He could hardly focus on the math, let alone grammar or science. Uru was not only distracting, but he was still half thinking about the day's events. The orb Uru had given him rested against his manga on the top shelf of his desk, eerily glowing. It out shined his ceiling lamp easily.

Sighing, Yamato let his pencil drop to his paper. "Hey Uru, you ready for be-" he stopped short.

The tiny alien was curled around his pillow, a ball on his bed. His eyes were gently, but firmly, shut. Yamato watched the tiny shoulders rise and fall evenly, and fought back another sigh. Looks like my bed -along with any form of normalcy- is gone now to, he thought. He wasn't angry though, not really. It was hard to get angry when you saw something so...cute -he winced- sleeping peacefully.

"What a day..." he mumbled, pushing back in his old computer chair and standing up tiredly. It was only eight, but he felt as if he'd run a marathon. He couldn't wait to pass out, whether it was in his own bed or the futon, it didn't matter at this point. At least Uru was clean now -he'd seen to that himself, not that he wanted to relive that memory- so he supposed it was fine.

He made sure to cover the boy with the covers before he flopped to the floor. He didn't want his protector, however pathetic he seemed after the shower, to catch a cold. How would he save Sayama if he had a runny nose and a fever? The image of Uru fighting a giant green alien with a runny nose haunted him as he fell asleep. Even after he'd fallen asleep, the sight had left an amused smile on his face.

00000

and that is that =3 the next chapter should be far more fun. (looks forward to iiiit, like omg)

omake!!

yamato: (cleaning house spotless) i havent seen halfa this in years...  
lune: you have girly habbits yamato...  
yamato: look whose talking...clean or leave  
lune: (rolls eyes and tosses hair) idk whachu mean. see you then~  
yamato: uhuh... i wonder what uru is doing  
uru: (whining on top of school building) they locked the door! how does uru get down now!

uru: what an ingenious plan, to walk through the door this time! (opens door and walks into the wrong apartment) WAH!! URU IS SORRY!!! ;A; (runs!)

yamato: (bursts through bathroom door) ARE YOU MELTI-?! o~o....  
uru: WAH! PERVERT ;A; (throws soap at!)  
yamato: IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!!

uru: (hums happily)  
yamato: sigh...(washes uru's hair for him) this is ridiculous...  
uru: OMG LOOK! a bubble!! (darts for it and slips and falls) waaaah...! ;~;  
yamato:...i'm doomed.


	5. Chapter 5

aha! it updates! it took so long XD;; mainly because i hadnt thought out the maiden's legend until now. my friend and editor and concept designer for all alien races, pika, also was helping me with that tidbit as well. she's very informative~ she suggested the ice age, or around that time (long long time span) for a few dozen reasons. she's wise w

warning: OOC, mild gore, crack, and probably a whole buncha historical details that arent correct.  
inspiration: "music again" 8D;; as per usual...oh oh, and "never be the same" by red as well!  
disclaimer: not mine, never shall be~

enjoy~!! 8D or, i hope you do!

000000000

To anyone who may be listening, I think I made the most awful decision of my life. Y'see, Over summer vacation, I went out of the country on a trip with a friend. And on the way home, I hit a small child with said friend's car while going seventy, who somehow vanished off the face of the earth. Traumatizing? Yes. Worst part was? Aside from the guilt, he had green blood. And if that wasn't weird enough, he showed up in my room a week later. Just shows up, right? Chilling on my window sill, in weird ass clothing and babbling on and oooon...

And guess what he was talkin' about? Go on. I have time before I have to stop talkin to myself in my head. Wait, you cant read minds. He can, but thats another story. Well, he was talking about being an ALIEN. Yeah, thats right. An alien. Acidy blood, green men from Mars, and all that. He wasn't green, but y'get the picture. And then y'know what he says? That my planet and all I hold dear is in great friggen peril. Peril. Who even uses that word!

And then he forces me into agreeing to help him!! All, "Help me or I'll wipe your memories and you're friggen doomed"!! He didn't say friggen, but y'know what? That ain't the point. So I agreed. I agreed like an idiot.

"Are you okay? You're staring funny..."

Yamato broke from his mental rant, staring at the boy who stood in the center of his bedroom, holding what looked like a very sharp knife. His arm was covered in translucent green fluids, running a steady river down his undisguised hands and dripping on the floor. For a moment, the brunette just stared at the growing puddle, trying to connect the dots. Uru was bleeding profusely. On his floor. Why?

"Yamato...? W-Whats wrong? You look really pale..." Uru questioned, eyes wide and bubbly with concern.

Yamato blinked quickly, and frowned deeply. "What the hell happened? Why're you bleeding?" and on my floor no less!

Uru blinked a few times, owlishly, before breaking into a wide smile. "Its for the test!"

"Test?" the brunette repeated, a puzzled expression on his face.

Nodding, the redhead held up his arm, wincing a little. "Our Maiden can heal any wound of our species, or those affiliated." he explained, then gestured with the knife. "So Uru is going to see if this works. If it does, Uru will have the proof he needs."

Proof? Yamato made a face, unable to take his eyes off of the green coated arm. "Proof? But don't you already know its her?"

"Uru hasn't proven it yet." he sheepishly kicked at the carpet. "To be honest? All Uru and the military know for sure, is that her name has the word Saya in it."

Yamato fought the urge to slap the boy. He was involved for nothing? You would think this sort of information would be known! "You know...Saya is in a lot of names."

"Yes..."

"And its kinda popular."

"Yes, well-"

"And the chances of it being Sayama are little to none."

Uru glared and attempted to cross his arms. He winced, and then made a face when his dry arm touched his blood, and settled for just huffing. "Uru knows all this! But its not like we don't have other information that helps us. Uru knows what he's looking for."

"Right..." he mumbled, glancing at his clock. "Listen, I need to go. Just don't do something stupid..."

The alien boy smiled softly. "I wont."

Yamato couldn't help but think otherwise, as he left the house. After all, a bleeding alien first thing in the morning was NEVER a good sign. It had only been two days since Uru had shown up, and the brunette still had not gotten used to him. The first day of his occupancy of Yamato's bedroom, he'd had mechanical devices strewn all over the floor. It was hard not to step on anything.

It hadn't been the best two days either. Why? Yamato was paranoid. And for good reason! Uru never left his disguise on when he was in Yamato's room, for one thing. A couple of times, his mother had nearly caught the redhead, and it had been sheer luck that Uru hadn't been seen. For the moment, he lived mainly out of the brunette's closet, only venturing out at night or in the morning. Or, that was the schedule Yamato knew of thus far anyway.

000

Sayama giggled softly, eyes closing. It was a warm morning, and so far, it had been fairly decent. Kiyose and Akitsu and Oume were always chatty, and kept her amused. In fact, Oume had just told them the weirdest joke on the planet. For the lack of a better response, they'd laughed. The smallest girl stood triumphantly and nodded.

"Oh, oh! And then theres the one about the raccoon and the dog!! Y'see-"

They tuned the girl out, having heard the joke before. The groups of teenagers had swelled in number as the school's clock hand drew closer to the first bell. But no one really paid it any mind, and the chatter continued over the crowd. To be honest? Sayama had missed mornings like these. They hadn't seen much of each other over break. She sighed, glancing around for a familiar face. No sign of Yamato yet. She could see Lune in the distance, but she didn't say a word towards him. He'd never seemed too happy with her presence, so she left him alone. Sayama had a feeling why he didn't like her, and she didn't want to push it.

A long and cheery ding echoed across the schoolyard. The crowd of students slowly made their way into the building, disappointed but still buzzed from their previous conversations. For a moment, Sayama wondered if Yamato would even be here. She wouldn't deny that she liked the tall boy, even if he was odd.

"Come on, we need to get going to." Akitsu hummed, adjusting the strap of her sword on her shoulder.

"Just a little longer...?" Sayama asked, glancing up at the taller girl.

Akitsu raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Alright."

"For someone who isn't in love, you sure do linger." Oume chimed in, blinking her large eyes skeptically.

Sayama rolled her own eyes. "Its not weird to wait for a friend, is it?"

"L-Lune does it to, doesn't he?" Kiyose piped up, and instantly silenced herself as the trio turned to stare at her.

"Kodaira is another story, and you know that." the tallest of the girls said, sounding just a little defensive.

Kiyose shuffled and the group of girls were silent for a few minutes. The minutes ticked by, and at last, Akitsu decided they should leave. She was like a secondary leader, Sayama being their main one, so what she said usually went. As they turned to depart for class, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed across the schoolyard. Sayama spun, relieved eyes landing on none other than Yamato. He stopped momentarily, smiling and greeting Lune, who had also been waiting. Upon seeing him, the blond's face instantly lit up.

The two boys hurried towards the school's entrance, stopping only when Yamato's gaze fell upon his dear Sayama. As if on cue, he went tense and fumbled for the words to form a greeting. "H-Hey! Why're you s-still out??"

Lune's smile dropped a few degrees, but Sayama tried not to pay that any attention. She smiled at both of them brightly. "We were just talking. I figured I'd wait for you." she said easily.

Yamato's heart dropped, then leapt back up and did some strange dance. "Y-Y'didn't have to do that!!"

_Sayama-san waited for me~! _he sang inwardly.

Sayama's smile turned softer, and to anyone else, it'd seem love struck. "I know. I wanted to." but she wasn't love sick, she would tell you, if you brought it up. Yamato was just a good childhood friend, and that was that. Or rather, she wanted to think that.

A wide and goofy smile split the brunette's face, Lune himself looking uneasy with the entire conversation. He took the chance while he could. "We're going to be late." he mumbled.

Everyone jumped a little, the warning bell chiming as if to remind them. Yamato cursed and hurried away, leaving only Sayama and Lune remaining as their friends hurried to class. She wasn't sure why, but the girl felt she should stay. The blond boy hadn't moved either. He sighed heavily, looking uncomfortable and tired.

"Are...you okay?" Sayama asked, concerned, but wary.

Lune blinked, glancing up at her with eyes he hardly showed anyone. They kind of scared her... "I'm fine. Why're you still out here? You'll be late."

"So will you."

He didn't have any response at first. He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a quiet and pained voice. "M-Miss...c-could you help m-me?"

Lune turned quickly, and Sayama frowned softly. A few feet away, was a little boy dressed in a hoodie and jeans, quite obviously in pain. Tears tracked his cheeks, and bubbled in his eyes, and he bit his lower lip hard. His sleeve was soaked. It took Sayama only a moment to react, and she darted towards the boy, leaving a dumbstruck blond to stare after her.

That was...that was the boy, wasn't it? Lune thought frantically. The boy from a week ago, the one they hit! What was he doing here? Why was he alive? What was going on??? He to hurried over, only a step behind Sayama, and for once he didn't mind being close to a girl. The boy sniffled, but inwardly, Uru cheered. This for sure would prove that he was right! He need only for her to heal him and-

He yelped as Lune grabbed his arm, and shoved up the sleeve. Uru flashed wide and nervous eyes at the blond, who was looking at him like he wasn't human. Only pale skin and thick liquid met the blond's gaze, a thick liquid that Uru had been careful to disguise. Lune blinked quickly, confused and annoyed.

"What the-" he was swept aside by Sayama, who looked livid. The blond stumbled a little, ready to demand why she had done that.

"Thats not how you treat an injured child!" she snapped, and for a moment, Lune debated telling her to shove off. It'd be suicide if Yamato ever found out, so he wouldn't do it.

The girl gently gripped the boy's arm, following the track of blood up his arm. She frowned, finding no wound to speak of. How strange... Uru fought the urge to grin, feeling the deep puncture knit up instantly. The final bell chimed loudly, the warning over. However, the two didn't care. They were too focused for their own reasons on the boy.

000

"She is most definitely the Maiden!" Uru cheered, giggling.

Yamato raised an eyebrow. "I take it you tried out your ridiculous plan?"

"Mhm~"

The brunette went silent, sighing heavily after a moment. Poor Sayama, she must have been so worried...A strange thought clicked. "Didn't you say the Maiden could heal within miles?"

Uru nodded, kicking his legs out happily on the bed. Yamato's frown deepened. "Then...how do you know it was Sayama who did it? Theres a lotta people in just one mile..."

The smile dropped from Uru's face. He looked down, eyes wide and troubled, lifting a hand to poke at his green lips. "Uru hadn't thought of this..."

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Thats a pretty wide hole in your plan."

The redhead glared, and pouted. "Well at least we know the Maiden is nearby! Thats a start!"

Yamato didn't point out that they'd hardly found any lead. The mile of city around his school was enormous, and he didn't even try to estimate how many hundreds of people occupied just the school at one time. Lune would be better at this sort of thing. "What else do you know about this maiden?" he asked. More knowledge meant a better chance of finding this girl.

Uru hummed and thought. "Well, we only really have the prophecy and legend to go off of."

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

"Once, there was a terrible war. On a frigid and far less sophisticated planet, our two races fought for control." Uru began, closing his eyes for a moment. "That planet was Earth, which had resources we desired. But the freezing temperatures, and the wild beasts halved our numbers, before even our first large battle. Our ship's engines froze, as well as our weapons. We were starving, and illness claimed many of us...By pure luck did we see their magical glow..."

A magical glow? Yamato made a face, though he didn't comment on how people didn't glow. "I don't know about you, but I don't remember aliens having a fight..."

The alien shrugged and glanced away. "It was thousands of years ago. Around the later years of what your people call the Ice Age, Uru believes."

"The Ice Age?!" Now that DEFINITELY sounded ridiculous! "What the...hows that even possible!" Yamato snapped, taking a step back.

He felt like he was talking to a crazy. A crazy with a well thought out story. "Well, a lot of races had their eyes on Earth." Uru explained, blinking at the brunette oddly. "It was easy to influence the early people and there was so much we didn't have on here. People drew about us, and formed religions around us, you know." the redhead said, smiling smugly.

"Religions...?"

"Mhm. We were quite influential. Of course, no one here would remember that, after the last ruling alien race conquered this planet..."

This was ridiculous! Aliens as gods? Ice Age battles? Magical girls?! Yamato just couldn't believe that. Whether he believed it or not, it seemed to be at least partly true. He couldn't deny that an alien was standing in his room, and he didn't know enough of the Ice Age to really know if this was true. Lune would know, he thought bitterly. But he couldn't TELL Lune!!

Shaking his head, Yamato pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead. He felt a headache coming on. "And? Is that all of the myth?"

Uru glowered at the use of wording. "It isn't a myth. And no, it isn't all of the legend." he huffed, crossing his arms and swishing his tail lowly.

"So whats the rest?"

"..." the redhead was quiet, his face flushing a slightly darker pink. "Uru doesn't know. Much of the legend is kept a secret. Generals like myself aren't privy to that knowledge..."

Yamato blinked his eyes open, and stared at Uru for a long time. "You're a GENERAL? And you don't even know this much? Its vague to begin with so far!"

Uru's glare darkened, his antenna lowering against his head. "Generals are generals. This myth is classified, only our ruler may know the entirety of it. Its just that important..."

Important huh? It seemed like a crock, if you asked him. Yamato let the subject slide, sensing the redhead's drop in moods. He didn't feel like pestering an already annoyed alien. Still, it was too hard to really believe, even with all of the strange incidents occurring lately. Yamato decided he'd let the truth of the myth surface by itself, because it was over his scope. The brunette didn't pretend to be smarter than he was. And he didn't try to pretend he understood one bit of his current situation.

He'd let it settle for now...

0000000

FINALLY. Finally......=w=

omake!!

uru: (stumbles down road) i-i think imma faint from bloodloss.........(stumbles).....(faints)  
dominico: ~~ oh what do we have here~ a young boy who i dont need to drug~ MINE!! *drags off*

(jk btw adoke XD;; )

uru: during the ice age-  
yamato: woah woah woah. wait.  
uru: ?  
yamato:...so. so you saw a wooly mamoth!?  
uru: O_o n-no.  
yamato: dodo birds?  
uru: no....  
yamato: what about sid-  
uru: I WASNT THERE D8;;

lune: oh my god....a small child covered in blood, it must be that kid! I MUST GET TO THE BOTTOM OF TH-...what just happened?  
uru: =w= (hides memory eraser)

lame omake wut =w=


	6. Chapter 6

Oooooooomg at last D8;; sorry for the lack of updating (if anyone even cares to read this) x_x stuff was up mentally, and I wasnt doin too well until a week ago XD;; and by then I had to get a new comp and shiznat. So um, sorry?

We are finally getting to the plot C8 YATTA~!!

warnings: language? Murder towards the end.  
Inspiration: pachi's story that takes place in akitsu's POV. and lotsa adam lambert~  
Rating: T  
disclaimer: not mine, never will be~

IF YOU DONT ALREADY KNOW, I JUST SUBMITTED THIS AS IT WAS XD i was too lazy to erase all the AN stuff, so....(yes, i am tenshihoshii A just in case y'didnt knowz)

onwaaaard! 8D

000000000

The events of the other day still lingered in Lune and Sayama's minds. No, lingered wasn't the right word. Haunted worked much better. The image of the bleeding, smiling little redhead before them had vanished almost as quickly as it had come. All Sayama truly remembered was a bright flash of light, and then...nothing. Just a lingering sorrow, as if something truly awful had occurred.

Lune refused to forget. He clung to the fragmented images of crimson hair, and emerald eyes, and blood that should have been GREEN. He didn't know why it was so important to know now, as the flash had made Lune forget the boy almost entirely, but he knew he had seen him. He KNEW that he had met him once before. And the blond refused to let go of those fragments, because he felt something awful would happen if he did.

Sayama only knew sorrow. A sorrow she didn't recognize, that had come with the flash. After the boy vanished, she and Lune had exchanged looks -"It was real." "Who was that?"- and it was as if they had said thousands of words in five seconds. Then, as calmly as the two could, they made their way to class. Late, as expected, but it didn't register in their minds.

000

"What the hell is all this?"

Uru looked up from the cluttered living room floor curiously. He was surrounded by all kinds of little objects, some huge. Five or six thick wires coiled around the expanse of the room, and were plugged into the wall. Various kinds of mechanical devices of all shapes and sizes lay wherever the wires didn't. The root of it all was a great sphere, almost the same height of the redhead in front of it.

"Oh! Uru was just using his ship's motherboard." he said simply.

Yamato stared. "Your SHIP'S?"

Uru nodded, his antenna bouncing. The brunette fought the urge to sigh. "For what...?"

The redhead smiled brightly. "Hacking!"

Hacking. HACKING?! Yamato stopped short in his thoughts, shocked and confused. "What?!"

The redhead winced, and glanced away, tail swishing low against the ground. "Yes..."

"Isn't that illegal?! Wont you get into trouble?!"

Fiddling with the panels that hovered over the sphere, Uru shrugged. "They probably already have a lot of reasons to arrest me as it is."

"WHAT?!"

Uru didn't respond, but Yamato didn't really need him to. Any more would only serve to horrify him, because now it was far deeper than just swearing secrecy. Uru committed crimes? And was now hacking? What did that mean for Yamato?! Would he get in trouble as well, for aiding and abetting??? This was awful! This was just plain AWFUL! He couldn't go to jail yet!!!

"Don't worry, after this, Uru is sure the crimes will be pardoned." the redhead murmured.

Turning his focus back to the alien, the brunette stared incredulously. "What gives you that idea!"

Uru smiled, hollow but tinted. "Don't war heroes get a special wish? They do on my planet. People who win a battle are granted a wish. Uru will use that wish to pardon us both."

Yamato stared at him blankly, trying to decipher that smile, and the way his eyes dimmed. "What the hell did you do? Is THAT why you're here?"

"What I did is of no importance. But yes, Uru is here to pardon himself."

What...? HIMSELF? Yamato didn't dare comment on the wording, noticing how the green of the boy's eyes was dark and stormy, and how his antenna lay against his head. The scene felt familiar, and he knew that this was a very sensitive subject, one that Yamato didn't want to tread upon. He didn't think he could take on the other male, even if he WAS smaller. Not only that, but Uru was probably his only hope for a peaceful future with his beloved Sayama.

After a moment, the brunette sighed and made his way to the couch, flopping down. Uru absently watched him, most of his attention still on the large sphere before him. It glittered sporadically, panels of all kinds hovering over it. Yamato couldn't help but find it distracting, and fun to look at it. The redhead's hands flitted over the panels quickly, fingers clicking transparent keys and buttons and eyes flickering bright reds. It was as amazing as it was creepy.

"So how was school?" Uru asked, breaking the heavy silence.

Yamato blinked, shifting his attention from the motherboard. "Eh? Oh...Uh, it was good, I guess." he replied awkwardly.

A faint smile ghosted over jade lips. "Anything happen? How is The Maiden?"

The brunette squirmed at the dreamy tone in which the title was said. "Uh, Sayama-san is fine. She's the same as always."

Cute, pretty, sweet, amazing, wonderful, awe-inspiring...yes, definitely the same as usual. Uru's eyebrow raised slightly, smile dropping a little. "That's good..."

A silence once again fell over the duo, only the sound of virtual clicks and strange languages breaking the silence. Yamato listened carefully to the clicking, purr like words, finding the language almost...comforting. Like a bath, or a mother's embrace. It was strange. He'd never really heard a sound quite like it. After a moment, Uru's face grew serious, a frown marring his pale face. Instantly, Yamato's stomach dropped.

"What...?"

Abruptly, the redhead's frown vanished, and he smiled brightly back. "Ah, its nothing~ Hey, hey, Uru found the rest of that legend~! Come see!"

Frowning, and unconvinced, the brunette stood up. Maybe it was best to not ask, he thought as he made his way to the alien. Careful to step over the wires, the teenager peered over the sphere cautiously. The screen was covered in odd squiggly lines and symbols, a light blue against the indigo screen. He had no idea what it said, but he knew a soft and lulling voice was speaking. Again, that strange wispy language floated around the room, like clouds over the sea.

Uru sighed, eyes drifting shut at the familiar sounds, before opening them again. He mumbled that wispy clicking sound, eyes heavy with homesickness for all of a minute. Yamato regarded him quietly, confused and wondering if the lulling voice did the same for Uru as it did him.

"Right then. The legend." the redhead hummed, antenna tilting forward and tail lifting slightly. "It says:...by pure luck did we see their magical glow, which brought us from the depths of our graves. Their songs and statues gave us strength, and saved us from near failure. " he mumbled, eyes scanning the screen as he read.

"The grave? What, she REVIVED you?" Yamato asked, incredulous. "Get real."

Uru shot him a venomous glance, before continuing. "Her magic protected us as we fought, eventually allowing our race to win and drive off our enemy...." his eyes grew faintly misty. But it was gone as soon as it came. "Her song echoed one last time, before dying out, and our savior left us."

The room was silent, the faint buzzing of the motherboard and the soft language drifting like a cloud the only thing that broke it. After a moment, Yamato broke the silence, voice low.

"And THIS is what we're going on?"

000

There was a low groan as the redhead strode into the room, purposely NOT meeting Yamato's eyes. Uru toweled his hair, careful to avoid his antenna, and flopped onto the brunette's bed. Yamato watched him bitterly, rubbing his sore, bruised cheek gingerly. He kept a decent ways away from the irate redhead, sitting in his computer chair and doing his homework. Or trying to, lately he couldn't seem to focus.

Uru paid the attempt no mind at all, simply going about his business of dressing. Yamato found the nude alien to be a strange sight, but kept his gaze on the boy's face. Or tried to. The elaborate and intricate coloring and markings on Uru's body were hard not to look at. If the redhead minded the brunette's gaze, he didn't show it.

Watching the boy tug on oversized pajama pants, Yamato felt the urge to face-palm. This was NOT the time to be checking out a small alien male.

"I said I was sorry."

Uru ignored him, antenna bent backwards, close to his head. Yamato wanted to yank on the boy's tail-feathers.

"HEY!"

Pausing in his dressing, the alien turned to glare darkly at the brunette. Yamato found himself inching back a little. Eyes darkening, the redhead felt the steam from the insult breeze out slowly. He was scaring him...

"You...you cant just insult someone like that!" Uru hissed.

Yamato made a face. "How did I even insult you!"

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "You insulted the Maiden!!"

"How! I was just pointin out that-"

"That legend is holy to us!" Uru snapped, hurt and exasperation in his eyes. "We worship her, she's our savior! The only reason you and I exist!"

Wincing, the brunette's frown deepened. So he was bent out of shape because Yamato had criticized his religion? Well...that made a little more sense, now that he thought about it. He wasn't sure about half of that story being true, but...

Shoulders slumping, Uru sighed heavily and glanced away. Of course he knew Yamato didn't know anything about the Maiden's religion. But he couldn't help feeling upset either way. It wasn't just a religion, it was his only hope...

Yamato broke the heavy silence. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Uru let his gaze linger on the human for a moment. "I know..."

"So can you stop friggen ignoring me?"

Rolling his eyes, but feeling the slightest bit relieved, the redhead shrugged. "I suppose."

Relief flooded the brunette, sighing. The rest of the night continued in somewhat peace, small talk and basic planning taking place. For now, Uru would keep watch over Sayama as often as he could. Yamato had no idea what he was supposed to do, other than quartering a foreign soldier, but if Uru was okay with that, he supposed it would have to do. He didn't know what was going on, really. Yamato was almost afraid to ask, he really didn't want to endanger Sayama by messing up.

Half of Yamato wondered if this was beyond his scope. He wouldn't lie, he wasn't the brightest ever to walk the earth. He didn't understand a lot of things, and half of him just wanted to ask Lune for help. Lune would know what to do...

000

Foot steps echoed, soft taps pattering quickly down the short hallway. The whitewashed apartment walls flew by quickly, the world nothing but a smeared nightmare. Misaya sobbed as she ran, for the first time, to her parent's room.

The door hammered the wall loudly, the sound waking the two adults before the girl's frantic sobbing. Sitting up, they regarded her in concern. Misaya was fifteen, and in all of her years, she'd ran to them only once. The normally brave girl's cheeks were streaked with tears and her lips parted to suck in violent breaths.

"Saya-chan?? Whats wrong? What happened?" her mother questioned quickly.

The girl's normally bell-like voice was a jumble, more of a clatter of metal than chiming. "There was...I saw....tried to....!!" she gasped, and sobbed harder.

Her mother and father exchanged glances, horror and disbelief in their eyes. Without a word, her father -a built man with short cut hair and a pinched expression- got out of bed and stormed past her. He grabbed a bat from the bedside table as he passed, and vanished from the room.

The moments passed slowly, Misaya clinging to her mother and sobbing, and the woman stroking her daughter's almost fair hair. The woman didn't for a moment ponder what could have driven her daughter to tears, already terrified. When her husband returned, she couldn't have been happier.

He shrugged, frowning deeply. "There's nothing there."

Misaya's eyes snapped open, blank momentarily before she felt a chill run up her spine. "W-What?"

"Nothing was there sweety."

"But I saw it! The stinger, the buzzing, the the-!!!"

"Nothing was there." the man said firmly, frustrated with himself.

Her mother ran nimble fingers through her light brown hair. "Are you sure you weren't imagining it?"

The girl stared at her parents as if they were insane. Their gazes bored into her, and she felt the urge to be sick. "I'm not lying." she said, voice trembling.

Nothing was said, but the way her mother's hand stopped its rhythmic caresses told her well enough. They didn't believe her. They...they didn't....Misaya let her mother and father walk her back to her bedroom, legs locking up outside of the door.

Darkness peered back, along with the shattered bedside lamp. The window was closed firmly against the outside world, and aside from the lamp, nothing was out of order. She wanted to vomit. Once she'd been tucked in, her parents left, whispering quietly to each other as if this was something shameful to be doing.

Maybe she DID have a nightmare. Clearly, nothing was wrong or misplaced. But she couldn't shake the lingering sickness and the cold chill. She rolled away from the wall, facing the door and itching at her arm. It felt like she'd been bitten, the way her body itched.

"Don't be silly, there aren't any bugs here...it was a dream." she whispered to herself.

That said, she forced herself to close her eyes. Tomorrow she had band practice, and a date. She needed to sleep, or Misaya wouldn't be able to function well in either. Her cheeks flushed a little at the thought of the date, and she smiled softly.

In her mind's eye, the girl could picture her boyfriend. Sweet smile, well meaning touches and soft brown eyes. Her fair hair had gotten many a bitter look, but he seemed so nice. She was very happy-

What was that? Something damp and thick was laying against her chest and upper arm. Eyes opening, she stared at her bedroom door, then at the sticky substance on her body. Thick, white coils of...something were folded around her, wrapped snugly just under her small chest. Her heart picked up, and her stomach began to ache.

"MO-!!!"

Her mouth was quickly filled with that same substance, the taste gagging her as much as the thread-like coils did. Her breathing picked up, wheezy and her bell-like voice was more like smashed piano keys. More damp substances dripped over her quickly, though more of a liquid consistency this time. Her screams came out as muffled whines as she heard a soft "tch."

"Not the right one..." a voice muttered above her, and she froze.

She knew that voice. It was the same one from her nightmare, the one that she had ran from! Before she could think further, the coils tightened sharply, squeezing her organs and ribs painfully. She choked on the gag, breath lost in the pain.

00000000

take a guess at what the latter liquidy substance is =w=....(spoils) ITS BLOOD C8

omake!!

lune:...sayama, do you remember a crazy little kid with green blood?  
sayama: A no.  
lune: are you sure???  
sayama: i know theres people like that out there, so it doesnt really bother me, but you need to lay off the crack loon  
lune: its not loon!! D8 a-and i can quit any time i want man!...wait, i dont even do crack!  
sayama: denial~

yamato: what the hell is- JAHSJKAHDBA!!! (trips over wires)  
uru: oh, sorry. i have my computer hooked up~  
yamato: wha?  
uru: i wanted to check my mail  
yamato: (blank stare)  
uru: i-its very important!! i just submitted a new fanfic, and i HAVE to know what people say!!

uru: (walks in sniffling)  
yamato: ;; ?  
uru: i HATE you! ;~;  
yamato: why!  
uru: i cant operate the shower AND shun you!!!  
yamato:....

misaya: there was a crazy bug that tried to have its way with me!  
dad:....A  
mom: A dont look at me, wasnt my porn this time.  
misaya: i-its true!!! ;A;  
??: =w= (just laughs at) idiot


	7. Chapter 7

AHA!!! done C8 its fillerish, and alot happens at once...so be aware that its not the grandest XD but i hope you all enjoy anyway!!!

inspiration: "Whatya Want From Me" by Adam Lambert  
rating: minor T  
warnings: language, ooc  
disclaimer: not mine, never will be~

ONWARD 8D i hope its okay enough!!

0000000000000

Dropping the newspaper to the tabletop, Fushimi sighed heavily. Black and white photos of a girl torn to pieces littered the pages, from the front cover to the back. It was big news, these recent grotesque murders. Their terror stricken expression -or what was left of them- littered the paper for the last week or two. Few didn't know of the grotesque murders.

What scared Fushimi most, wasn't the way the murders were carried out. It was that almost all of the victims were blond females. They also all went to Yamato's school. The woman brushed her own blond hair back, eying the wrinkled newspaper in unease. Maybe it was just someone who hated foreign children?

All the woman knew for sure was that she didn't like this at all. In fact, she debated -though she knew she couldn't do it- leaving this part of the city. She herself was blond, and worked late at night. She could be a victim.

Glancing at her son's room, she decided against this. She couldn't up and leave now, not while Yamato had school and a life. Speaking of her son, she should probably wake him up...

000

"W-What the hell?!"

The redhead whined and snuggled closer to the brunette's side. "Yamato-samaaa, be quiet! If you yell like that, she'll hear you..."

Yamato stared funny. "What?! Sama?!"

It took Uru a moment to comprehend what was going on, before his eyes shot open. The red in them was bright and nearly ate up the entirety of his iris and pupils, and his normally pale pink skin was a blushy color. The alien realized he was cuddling something warm, and belatedly, that it was indeed Yamato.

"I-I AM SO SORRY!" he yelped, shoving away, and falling off of the narrow bed with a loud thump.

The brunette blinked quickly, confused and creeped out as he watched the boy struggle to compose himself and rearrange his shirt. He noted, with a little unease, that the front of Uru's shirt was soaked. How did THAT happen? He wondered.

"Yamato? Are you okay?" a muffled voice called.

The duo had little time to process this as the sound of footsteps began to near the room. Uru's antenna sprung upright, and he quickly scrambled to his feet and for the closet. His tail slipped through just in time to miss getting slammed in the door as he shut it. Ironically enough, as one door closed, another opened, and Fushimi stood in the entrance.

Yamato stared at her, shell-shocked from the sudden events. His mother watched him, concerned and a little annoyed at his lack of response. He snapped from it quickly.

"O-Oh...uh, Hey mom. What's up?" he asked, trying to keep his eyes off of the closet.

"Are you okay? I heard something fall, and yelling..."

"I-It was nothin. I had a nightmare, and then the alarm went off and yeah..."

Fushimi pretended not to know that his alarm went off later in the morning. "Right..." She glanced around the room quickly.

"It wasn't anything, really." Yamato said, impatient, but knowing why his mother was so worked up.

The blond woman said nothing, though she did glance at the closet suspiciously before she left the room. She closed the door with a sound click. The room was quiet once she left, Yamato holding his breath just in case something else happened. He let it out in a sigh, just as an awkward whine and a thump sounded off from the closet.

Eye twitching, the brunette stood up and knocked on the door. A hasty, "O-One moment!" echoed back in response. Yamato began to feel uncomfortable as another strange sound echoed from the closet, and knocked again.

"What the hell are you doing in there??"

"N-Nothing, wait a-a moment!"

"I'm opening this door."

"No, don't!"

if he was doing something weird...Yamato Swung open the door, glaring into the dim lighting. Nothing was amiss, except for the alien boy whose shirt had gotten damper. Uru was pouting, his hands stopping in their movement of lifting his shirt.

"I said not to open the door!" he whined, debating on shoving his shirt back down. His chest was slick with...something, and the shirt would stick uncomfortably.

Yamato stared oddly, pretending not to look at the boy's half naked torso. "Y'coulda just said you were changing..."

Uru looked away, the circles of gold on his cheeks almost amber colored. "R-Right...sorry, I'll remember that."

Something told the brunette that changing was the last thing the alien was doing, but he didn't press the matter. He himself needed to dress quickly, or he'd be late for class. Reaching into his closet, he grabbed for his uniform, Uru tilting out of the way. Briefly, Yamato's hand brushed the warm, slick substance on his chest. He ignored the way Uru's mouth gaped and he looked like he'd been violated, yanking his clothes from the closet quickly.

Uru watched as the other dressed, mopping up his chest with his own damp shirt. It was an awkward few minutes before the brunette thought of something to say.

"Mom's freaking out lately...something about murders recently."

Uru paused in his dressing, frowning deeply. "Murders?"

"Yeah. A lot of girls have been winding up dead recently."

Suddenly, the redhead was in front of Yamato, eyes wide and upset. "You never mentioned this before! What kind of murders?!"

Something in the way the redhead was panicking made Yamato more than a little uneasy. "I dunno, go check the paper or the news?"

The light dimmed a little at this knowledge, and Uru nodded slowly. "After your mother leaves then..."

Yamato nodded, and then shuffled towards the door. "Right then...I hafta go."

Uru smiled faintly. "Take care."

"Be sure to hide-"

"Around seven thirty. I know."

"Right...see ya."

Yamato left quickly, waving goodbye to his mother as he passed. He couldn't get the boy's disturbed eyes from his mind. What WAS that? Why was Uru so worked up over this? He didn't know...But it unnerved him, he wouldn't lie.

000

Another girl was missing. Sayama shifted uneasily in her seat, uneasy and concerned. She didn't know any of the girls, truth be told. But really, that didn't ease the slowly building terror. A murderer was on the loose, and who knew when he'd switch up his victim's criteria? It could just as easily turn to brunette's after all.

Glancing over at Lune, who seemed more than a little ill, she frowned. While she wasn't good friends with the blond, she did understand why he was so upset. Not only were a few of those girls friends of his, but he himself fit the general description of the victims. He was foreign, he was blond, and he looked just like a girl.

This realization prompted a panic in her. She didn't hate Lune, despite how she suspected he did her. They'd known each other for years, and he was Yamato's friend. And if it caused Yamato pain, then Sayama didn't dare chance it.

Lune was sitting in his chair, rigid and fiddling absently with his notebook. It was covered in drawings, whole pages even devoted to doodles or portraits. He chewed at his pencil, trying to think of what to draw. Because right now, anything would do.

He wouldn't lie. The recent murders terrified him. At first, they hadn't mattered, they were just as abstract as any other tragedy was when it didn't concern yourself. But...then it started including friends. And that's when it started to scare him. Now? Now he was just as afraid for himself as he was for the few remaining friends he had. Oume and himself were the most likely next victims in this room...But then, there was also an odd trend he had noticed at some point in time.

A shadow fell over him, and he looked up quickly. Sayama smiled weakly down at him, and his pounding heart stilled easily. "Oh...Hi."

"Hi...I um..." she paused.

Lune's eyes narrowed a little. "Yes?"

Why did he always make her so uneasy? "I heard about...your friend."

A blank look overtook the blond's face. After a moment, he realized what was going on, eyes misting slightly. "Oh."

"I'm sorry for your loss...and, I just wanted you to know...that I'm always here." We aren't great friends, but I do care, she thought. "And I hope you stay safe."

Lune smiled weakly up at the brunette. "Thanks..."

The two just lingered in the awkward silence. Neither was used to this sort of communication with the other. Relief flooded them when the bell rang, and the teacher entered shortly after. Sayam hurried away, that sorrow from before pounding quickly in her ears, and fueling her need for distance.

000

Yamato returned home to a frantic alien pacing the length of the living room. A newspaper was laying on the floor, and the TV was on. A news anchor chattered in a happy tone about the day's events, going over the murders again. His tone never once changed.

"Uh...Hi?" he greeted, watching Uru's tail slice the air in harsh swipes.

The redhead turned to look at him, eyes heavy with panic. "They're here!!"

Yamato frowned. "W-Who??"

Uru stopped pacing, running a hand through his hair. His eyes were haunted with something only he could see. "The people I'm trying to keep away from Sayama!"

A long moment went by as Yamato processed this. The enemy...was here? HERE? On Earth? Uru's face was leaded down with a sick expression, like he wanted to be sick.

"Yes. They're HERE. These murders, they aren't just some psycho!" he cried, shoulders quivering. He hadn't even known until half a month after the crimes. He couldn't control the sickness in his belly, the one that hissed he was too late and this was for nothing. "T-They..."

Shaking his head, the brunette fought to comprehend this all. "Okay, wait. Wait a damn second. How do you even know this!"

The redhead stared at him as if he were stupid, before snatching the paper from the table. His antenna pressed flat against his head as he thrust the articles at the human. "All the names. All of them, they contain the words I mentioned before. Saya. And their hair. It fits with the Maiden's description."

"Sayama isnt blond though..."

"Then we're in luck for now!" Uru cried, looking ready to cry. "They're wrong. So...so we can still fix this!"

Yamato just watched the upset alien, wondering if he should try to comfort him. But how? He himself was a mess inside, though he was too numb at the moment to notice. He just knew Sayama was in danger, that HE was in danger.

Without another word, Uru stalked towards the door. Yamato blinked in disbelief and grabbed for the boy's shoulder. "H-Hey! Wait, where are you-"

"I need to go protect her!"

Something sharp stung Yamato's chest briefly. "That's MY job! I can do it, you don't need to-"

Uru spun on him, eyes ablaze with desperate fury and glowing a faint red. "I AM GOING TO DO IT!"

For a moment, the brunette didn't know what to say. He'd never seen the redhead this worked up, he'd never been afraid of him before. Well, he had, but not to this extent. Uru's shoulders tensed, and he felt a lump rise in his throat.

"I-I'll be back every now and then, but I'm going to protect her. I need to do this, I-I..." he turned away, and Yamato wasn't sure who this neurotic boy was anymore. "Bye for now." he murmured and fled the room.

Yamato stared out the open door, watching the boy dart away in his clothing. There was panic rising in his chest, but mostly, he felt a sudden emptiness. This was the first time since Uru had entered his life that he'd been this upset. He didn't know what to do or say now...

000

Life proceeded smoothly from then on. Yamato woke up, he dressed, he ate and he left his apartment without the fear of an alien being caught in his closet. He went to school, and chatted with Lune, and all was at ease.

The only thing that reminded Yamato of the danger that chased him and his beloved Sayama were the murders. They didn't stop after Misaya, or any other girl. In fact, the murders became more frequent.

Yamato himself was uneasy, and often toted around the sick fear that tonight might be the night Sayama was targeted. Sure, everything was at ease outwardly, and no one expressed the fear. But he knew otherwise.

Uru, occasionally, would pop up. He would smile, and ask how Yamato had been. Yamato would always reply the same.

"Like shit. Is she okay? How is it going? Is she okay?"

A dark look would lurk in the redhead's eyes, and he'd carefully assure Yamato that Sayama was perfectly fine. Yamato trusted Uru's word. Uru would stay long enough to eat, brief his friend on the events, and would then leave.

It was a stressful, long week for Yamato. During the day, he knew nothing other than that Sayama was still in school. At night, he knew even less and didn't sleep well. He wanted to help Uru protect Sayama, he wanted to make sure she was okay. But he knew, somehow he knew, it wouldn't be wise to barge in.

He didn't want to burden Uru, not when she was on the line.

000000

d-done for now....this was filler from filler hell. i hate writing filler, cuz its just unfun XD;; though, there were a few things that were fun to write...(snickers)

omake~

uru: maaaaster~ zzz...zzz  
yamato: what?! master?!  
uru: (nuzzles) =w=.....PLZGODDONTDOIT!!!  
yamato: oAo  
uru: (cries in sleep) I'LL HAVE THE RENT TOMORROW, PLZ DONT DO IT MR. BUNNYYYYYY!!!!!  
yamato: D8 wtf are you dreaming about! (shakes awake)  
uru: oAo....oh, sorry, nightmare =w=;;  
yamato: o__o......right...

yamato: i'm coming in there!!!  
uru: I'M HAVING A PRIVATE MOMENT D8 screw off!!  
yamato:...private...moment? (shatters)

yamato: i'm home-...uru?  
uru: C8....(watching barney)  
yamato:...ohgawd  
uru: wha? oh, sorry =w= the news wasnt on yet so i...

sayama: lune, i've come to cheer you up like good people do!  
lune: Dl;; (drawing yamato/lune porn) U-UH!!!  
sayama: (stares at).....  
lune:.....  
sayama: i never saw a thing.  
lune: ;;

end~


	8. Chapter 8

warning: LANGUAGE, violence, erm...  
inspiration: "never be the same" by red and "music again" by adam lambert (this song has some heavy influence huh?)  
rating: T for cursing (not gonna M it, just cuza that)  
disclaimer: not mine, never shall be~

KUDOS to pika for designing the aliens in this fic and helping me out with their styles and such!! and thanks a ton pachi for the spider blood bit, it helped~

000000

Days had gone by. A full week almost, really. In that time, Yamato had seen Uru maybe five times, and the entire time, everything seemed to go from bad to worse. Sure, Sayama was fine, Uru never reported anything wrong. But the murders were not only more frequent, not only more violent, but they were growing closer to Sayama with every passing day.

Sayama herself was losing her calm, cool composure slowly. The murders had switched from specific hair color, to anyone they killer wished. And every time she woke up, the news blared that a more horribly maimed victim had been found.

After the last week, she stopped looking at papers or TV screens. If she never looked, she wouldn't be upset. Nothing was going to happen to her, she told herself. Still she made sure she traveled with a friend -Akitsu, usually- and was always home before nightfall. She didn't care that most murders took place in the victim's home, she just wanted to feel safe.

It didn't seem to matter what she did to avoid it though, because she couldn't stop gossip. With sick interest, her peers would go into great depth on the deaths. They would debate why or how they happened, never noticing how Sayama's face blanched.

She sat at her desk, eating peacefully, and pretended not to hear the world around her. Lately, Yamato's attention seemed overwhelming, and all the common things too much. Girls just across the room were talking animatedly about the murders.

"-and her throat was just ripped out! All this string was in her and-"

"Who next do you think?"

Sayama bit her lip, and forced herself to be at ease. A little away from her, Lune was staring at the meager meals he always brang and never ate. It must be hard to listen to when you knew them, Sayama thought. It was bad just knowing you could die, but two burdens must be awful.

"I bet this is about some gang thing."

"Gang thing? Are you high?"

"Well-"

Lune stood abruptly, his chair screeching across the linoleum floor and silencing the nosy girls. Everything seemed to stop, as the boy left the room quickly. The girls stopped their talking, as if they just remembered Lune had been there.

The way his presence silenced those girls, Sayama wished she could do that to.

000

Uru had to admit. Keeping watch over a paranoid girl was boring. Even though he was happy she was safe, even though it gave him a reprieve from the confusing things in his head. It was BORING.

When Sayama wasn't home, he'd go through her house, examining it carefully. He didn't know when or how the enemy may attack. When she was home, he'd watch her from the rooftop, or in an unoccupied room. Occasionally he'd leave to visit Yamato, but lately, seeing him brought up strange memories he knew he didn't have.

If he closed his eyes...

This was silly, he thought. He was currently creeping around the girl's home, scanning over the halls. They were clean of all otherworldly marks, as he expected. Stretching, he glanced around and debated raiding the fridge. He WAS hungry. He hadn't really eaten in a while either...

Sighing, he ambled towards the kitchen. Vaguely, he heard a strange sound overhead. Looking up, he frowned. Nothing. Shrugging, he continued on, figuring it was just the plumbing.

000

Yamato stared up at the house, nervous beyond compare. Sure, he'd been here, he and Sayama were childhood friends. He remembered running through the modest -but classy- home dozens of times as a child. But of course, childhood was childhood. Ever since he'd hit fourteen, it became too awkward to go there alone like he used to. This would be the first time he'd been there in years.

Gulping, he stared at the door, and then his watch. It was almost seven at night, would he be bothering her? He probably would...But Yamato hadn't seen Uru in days, and he was worried about Sayama...

After another five minutes of mental debates, he pressed his finger on the doorbell. The shrill buzz sent a jolt up his spine, and he shuffled nervously. A minute went by, a second. Another few minutes passed. Yamato listened carefully for the telltale signs of footsteps. The wind blew gently, and all that met his ears was the sound of the wind chimes on the second floor.

Something's wrong, he thought. No, no, maybe she was just busy? Yes, of course. He must have caught her at a wrong moment. Yes, that had to be it. He waited a moment, debating whether to knock again, or to leave. Suddenly, the door opened.

Yamato jumped, surprised to see Sayama still dressed in her school uniform, and looking at at him blankly, as if she didn't know him. "Yes?"

The brunette smiled nervously, and stepped back a little. "A-Ah, did I interrupt you?"

The girl shook her head jerkily. "No. Can I help you?"

Yamato was taken aback at the blank, uninterested tone she spoke in. "Uh, I-I was just worried about you...you seemed upset in school today, so..."

"I am fine." she said stiffly, watching him boredly, but closely.

"O-Oh...uh..."

"Would you like to come in? Is that it?"

Once again, Yamato was taken aback. "I...guess so, sure."

The girl stepped away from the door his quick and sharp steps, never taking her eyes off of the brunette. Despite how much shorter she was, this unnerved Yamato, and he almost wanted to run. Stepping inside, he noted the entire house was dark, and not a sound echoed aside from his footsteps.

"YAMATO, NO!!"

Yamato jumped, instantly on alert. He looked around quickly, knowing that voice anywhere. "Uru?! What-?"

The door slammed shut behind him, and suddenly, a low hissing and buzzing began to echo. His blood ran cold, and he turned to face Sayama, who was no longer standing. Something began to wrap around his leg with a slippery and thick consistancy, and before he knew what was going on, he'd smashed into the hardwood floor.

He didnt have time to yell or figure out what had happened before he was dragged sharply and quickly by the leg. He vaguely registered that Sayama was also being dragged. Yamato was just about to smack into a wall when suddenly his leg went slack, and the ground stopped moving under him.

Above him, stood a beat up, frightened Uru, holding a strange knife in his hand. The redhead was breathing hard, and looked as relieved as he was terrified. Upon seeing the brunette alive, the alien sighed heavily.

"Oh thank the Maiden...Thank her...I was so worried you- that she'd be hurt worse!" he cried, hurrying over the where Sayama also lay.

Yamato lay there, confused and winded and in pain, and tried to figure everything out at once. Uru was here? What happened to Sayama? What WAS that just now?! He didn't know!!

Uru seemed to have read his mind, and answered in between checkups on Sayama and himself. "They've found her. They attacked, just a few minutes before you arrived...they...you nearly died."

The brunette blinked, and wheezed, "WHO?!"

The alien looked at him with a haunted look. "We'll see in a few minutes tops." Standing, he gestured to the girl. "I want you to take her, and run." he said in a shakey, but controlled voice.

Sitting up, the human stared at Uru as if he were insane. "What?! W-"

"We have no time!" Uru snapped, gesturing towards the dark rooms ahead of them. "He will come down at any minute!!"

"Who!" Yamato demanded, sick of being so confused.

The steps creaked, and Uru went pale. Suddenly, Yamato thought his allergies were kicking in. Sneezing, he rubbed at his sore arms and looked around. He could feel hives beginning to break out on his skin, and frowned deeply.

Uru was rigid, turning to face the stair case with his knife ready. His antenna were pressed against his head, and his tail swept low to the floor as a figure began to come into view. First, one leg appeared, three toes tapping the wooden step, followed by another foot and then another. Yamato stared at the feet, unable to see the color or anything in the darkness.

A nerve wracked silence passed, Uru watching the staircase as if he could see the other. His eyes were a bright red, tracing an unseen outline. The brunette scooted slowly towards Sayama, body tense as the seconds ticked by.

Before he could even touch the girl, something shot out at the trio. Uru dodged the quick swipe of the thick tentacle like object, eyes focusing on something past the doorjamb. Yamato barely registered the sound of footsteps pitter pattering across the wall. He had seconds to raise his arms, eyes wide as something jumped out at him.

The blow never came, he realized. In front of him stood Uru, hand wrapped around a thick wrist, soft light blue fur jutting out from his fingers. The wrist ended in four fingers, long, knife-like pink claws extending out. The owner was taller than Uru, with long, stringy black hair that fell over his wide shoulders. His shoulders split into two sets of arms, one set smaller than the beastly upper set. The upper set of arms sported wicked, toxic pink colored claws, that Yamato was sure could easily slice right through him.

It was clearly a boy, if the flat chest meant anything. His chest markings and shoulders were formed similarly to Uru's, only less showy, and the bands were the same tainted pink as his claws. From his back, a long and thick sack-like limb swayed, tipped with a sharp stinger and blunt fang like protrusions. Above that, were a few thinly furred limbs that bent forward, ready to stab it seemed.

The creature stood poised to attack, a leg thrust forward, and two thick, less deadly looking limbs steadying him from behind. His face was a determined one, bright pink eyes narrowed, and his jaw set. Two fangs peeked from his cheeks, and he had a button nose. His ears were winged, just like Uru's, and soft cerulean fur lined them where they connected with his head. Another protrusion stretched between his slick bangs, with what appeared to be eyes on them.

His entire body was a dark blue where light fur and claws didn't appear. He gave Yamato the impression of a spider, and something terrible and to be feared. It took him a moment to figure out why he wasn't moving. The human took note that Uru's unoccupied hand had a blade pressed against the other alien's neck.

The alien took a moment, inspecting the redhead carefully, his tired eyes observant. A snort escaped him. "Tch, seriously? YOU?"

He didn't sound unhappy, so much as surprised, though his speech was garbled. Uru narrowed his own bright eyes. He said nothing in return, though it didn't deter the other from talking. "I was sure you were in prison, or hell, dead."

"I was sure you were still exiled in your stupid jungle." Uru snapped back coldly. "Still empty, as Uru expected."

Yamato blinked, watching as the other alien's face turned to one of mortification. "Shut the fuck up, you Ki zo-!!"

The knife was pressed forward, with just enough pressure to spill a slight bit of blood. The boy silenced himself quickly, though rage still burned in all of his many eyes. Yamato recognized the look, and knew he was a short tempered person. There was a wildness about the way he seethed, one that hinted how dangerous he really was.

Dangerous or not, the alien wasn't stupid enough to further insult the redhead. "What are you doing here anyway?" he hissed.

Uru's expression turned to one of distaste. "Why should I tell someone like YOU?"

"Just asking. I wondered what became of the well known general." he hummed, as if he wasn't in the least bit upset.

"I'm here to clear my name." the redhead said simply, as if it truly was simple. "There's nothing more to say to the likes of yourself."

"Here to defend the Maiden?" the strange alien asked. "As if they'll honestly pardon YOU. Not someone who fucked over your entire army just about-"

"SHUT UP!! What do you know!!" Uru shrieked, cutting the other off midsentence.

Yamato felt his blood run cold at the sound, never having heard such hate before. He watched as Uru pulled his knife back, intent on burying it deep into the other's body. The spider-like alien easily saw this, and leapt back, landing just outside of the doorjamb. He sneered, and sunk into a position better suited to a battle. He himself was a seasoned fighter, though he held no official rank.

"So I was right." he mumbled, a strange clicking in his words.

Uru's rage filled eyes were completely red. He shook with pent up anger, clutching his knife hard. Yamato eyed the two, and got the feeling they were somehow related. "U-Uru, who is he?" he asked.

It took a moment for the redhead to reel it in. "He's a fallen prince."

"A prince?"

"No one knows his real name." he bit, keeping his eyes on the other male. "The name we do have, translates to Jealous in your language."

Yamato blinked, staring at the two oddly. He snorted. "Jealous?" he repeated, fighting off a snicker.

"I wouldn't be laughing Asshat." Jealous snapped, face flushing slightly.

The brunette instantly bristled, shocked momentarily. "A-Ass hat?! Where did that come from!!"

If that wasn't bad enough, he could swear he heard Uru snicker. He debated demanding an answer a second time, only to be stopped as the redhead narrowly blocked a flung projectile. The object landed limply, coming apart in threads. Yamato vaguely knew it to be a bundle of webs, and wondered how they could be harmful at all.

Another set of projectiles shot out, and Uru blocked each one before sprinting forward to attack the spider like alien. Jealous sneered, and dodged easily and moved quickly through the doorjamb. The redhead stopped, narrowing his eyes as he watched the alien vanish into the darkness of the house. It would be foolish to follow after him, he knew.

Behind him, Yamato breathed a sigh of relief and took a moment to relax. He was still high strung, and Sayama was still his main concern where fear didn't take over. But for now, he supposed it was okay. He glanced at Uru, and took in his appearance.

"W-What now?" he asked.

The redhead didn't take his eyes off of the door. "We can't run."

"Why?!"

"He knows. He will report this." the alien said firmly, voice heavy with unease. "And what's more, he sealed the door. Who knows what else he's done?"

Yamato felt a chill run through his veins. He didn't want to know. "So we're trapped." he said. It was final, not even a question really.

Uru shrugged. "Until Uru kills him."

The way he said it made Yamato just a little sick. "D-Does killing hafta be the only way?"

The redhead cast a glance at the brunette, eyebrow raised curiously. Humans were strange things sometimes, he decided. They kill when they shouldn't, but don't understand when they should. "Uru wouldn't suggest it if it wasn't the right choice Yamato."

Yamato doubted this. But outwardly, he nodded and absently stroked Sayama's arm. It was so chilly, he almost thought she was already dead. Uru didn't miss this. He took a moment to gather himself, and take stock of his situation.

"We need a plan."

000

Jealous hung on the ceiling, waiting patiently for his target. He hung over the staircase, the same place he'd snagged Sayama. He had little doubt that Ultimo would wander this way. The redhead was a legendary General, he would anticipate Jealous's hiding place.

A dark corner, just out of reach of the railing but in a blindspot. Ultimo would have no wheres to run if he did search the stairs. Of course, they both knew this. It wasn't what Jealous was intending really. Still, he waited, biding his time and watching the doorway to the living room.

A wave of excitement ran through him. He had wanted to fight the redhead for so long, ever since that day. Ever since so much, really. Nothing but Ultimo's death would satisfy him at this point. The excitement grew as he spotted the redhead passing through the doorjamb.

Uru was glancing around furtively, the red of his eyes dulled. He listened for a stray thought, though he knew it was a waste of time. He walked in a ready crouch, cautious as he stepped. The redhead held his arms close to his chest, but the faint light still caught on the long and sharp claws he held. The long thin tail swept out behind him, ready to balance him should he need to move into a quick pose.

Jealous held back from attacking, all of his eyes narrowed as the redhead's image slowly crept further into his view. Uru crept along, eying the staircase. If he went along those stairs, he would be cornered. If he were Jealous, he would choose this place to attack. With careful and measured steps, he skirted just around the stairs.

Without warning, his enemy leapt at him. Uru dodged, sinking into a battle position as the wooden planks shuddered under the other's weight. Without pause, several of Jealous's legs thrust out, the long and dagger like pink claws fully extended. The redhead moved to the side, ducking when needed. When the attacks paused, he darted forward, swinging his own razor like claws at the alien's mid section.

The spider alien bounced out of the way, and made his way up the stairs. Uru sneered, following the boy with two seamless jumps. His own jumping skills were far greater than Jealous's he knew. Landing in front of him, the redhead swung hard with a kick. Jealous just barely dodged the blow, eying the long and jagged crescent claw. He would have to be careful of those, he thought. One hit, and he might as well be finished.

Jealous quickly jabbed his legs at the redhead, absently checking behind him. Uru noticed this, and was suddenly aware of where he was. Before he got to far into the narrow hall, he swung at the other alien and quickly bounded over him, taking a perch on the railing. His heart sped up, realizing that he couldn't fight up here. If Jealous cornered him in such a narrow space, he was finished. There would be nowhere to run, and certainly no room to fight in.

Narrowing his eyes, Jealous spun quickly, and renewed his attack on the redhead. But the boy's speed allowed him to keep the attacks at bay, as he bounced backwards and used the walls to latch onto and propel himself away. Jealous followed suit, ignoring how the wall groaned under him as he to launched himself down the stairs, where the redhead had taken off down another hallway. He gave chase, swearing under his breath.

"You can't hide for long Ki zo chu!" he called.

Uru felt his heart race as he ran, turning a corner. He had to think of something, a way to defeat the other. It wasn't that he couldn't fight him. But he had no idea if Sayama was okay. He also didn't have the time or leisure to fight. A disturbance could be fatal, for more than just himself, he thought.

He turned a corner and glanced behind himself, tail swishing nervously. He saw no sign of Jealous, nor did he hear any pitter pattering footsteps. Had he given up? He shuddered, and searched for Yamato's thoughts in the silent house. Uru was relieved to hear the sounds, and would have relaxed if the sounds of the thoughts weren't oddly chilled and erratic.

It hit him then.

000

Yamato dove out of the way as a blade was swung down at him. He skittered across the room, turning to see Sayama wrench it from the floor, dragging up pieces of wood. She straightened up, then without looking at him, dove forwards with the weapon. She thrust it forward, and he narrowly moved away in time.

"W-Why are you doing this?!" he cried, eyes wide and terrified as the girl he loved kept her assault up.

Sayama looked up, eyes dead, before rushing at him again. He dodged, catching her wrist as it flew past him. The girl yanked at her arm, with little effect. She turned her head slightly, her eyes peering past her hair. In the faint light from outside, she looked otherworldly, with a murky pink running through her eyes. The sight knocked the breath out of Yamato.

"Sayama..." he murmured quietly, almost afraid to speak.

A punch flew at him, catching him across the cheek. The brunette stumbled, releasing Sayama with a yelp of pain. She hit surprisingly hard, what with her small build and fists. The girl took a few steps forward, her knife flying at Yamato's middle. It took him a second to realize this, and he had no time to think otherwise.

The blow never came. Yamato was startled, eyes wide as he saw a familiar redhead in front of him. Uru, he thought. Uru was holding the knife, grimacing painfully as he held the knife. Even through the armored skin of his palms, the blade cut in. The tip of the knife was impaled in his upper arm, where he'd accidentally knocked it off course. A steady rivulet of emerald liquid made its way down his pink skin.

It occurred to Yamato, that Uru had saved him for the second time that night. He couldn't seem to get past of reckless this was, as he watched the redhead pant. Uru glared darkly at the poisoned girl, and easily forced the girl and her knife backwards. Sayama stumbled, the force easily knocking her back. For a moment, Yamato wanted to yell.

"U-Uru, are you okay?!" was what came out instead.

The redhead glanced over his shoulder, a small smile flitting over his jade lips. "Uru is fine. Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"No...I'm fine...but...your arm...." he mumbled, feeling queasy.

Uru shrugged. "Its nothing serious. It barely even went in."

Yamato nodded slowly, a little jerkily. He didn't know what to say. Letting his gaze fall on Sayama, he noticed she wasn't moving. His heart stopped. Glancing up at Yamato, the redhead frowned.

"She is fine. Its a decoy."

"A decoy? What?"

Uru fixed his gaze on the doorway. Eyes narrowing, he bit his lip. "The one who we need to worry about should be here soon. Here," he tossed Yamato a blunt handle. It was weightless, and ornately carved from what looked like metal. Uru gestured to the door. "Press the button, and go to work on that door. When he comes in here, you need to take Sayama and run."

Yamato looked up from the handle incredulously. "What?! What about you!"

"Uru will be fine." he assured.

"But-"

"I don't want to fight and look over my shoulder every five seconds." he snapped, narrowing his eyes.

"I can't worry about you AND him. If you aren't within a set radius, his poison's main effect will not work, and Sayama will be safe to be around."

He turned to Yamato, serious, but urging. "Please. Uru wouldn't ask something of you if it wasn't important."

The brunette narrowed his eyes, jaw set as he looked down at the alien. He knew Uru was right, but he didn't want to just RUN! He could be of use to, dammit! "I aint running. Not unless it gets serious."

Uru felt the urge to throttle the stubborn teenager. In his memories, he recalled he had always been this way though. "Fine...but the moment something bad happens..."

"I'll run then."

"At least open the door?" Uru pleaded, fear gnawing at him. Jealous was almost to the door, he knew it.

Yamato muttered and quickly made his way to the door. It was completely sealed along the edges with a thick, hard white substance. Yamato wondered when Jealous had done this. Pressing the button on the handle, he jumped as a beam of energy ran through it. A metallic blue light danced, nothing like a light saber or anything cliche. He set to work jamming it at the webs that blocked their exit.

Behind him, Uru watched as a familiar figure darted through the doorjamb. Without warning, Jealous quickly jabbed at the redhead with his back legs, and the sharp claws on his arms. Dodging with some difficulty, the redhead glared, swinging his leg up to try and catch the spider creature with his claws. His attack was partly successful, the sharp claws opening up a thin, but deep line across the spider alien's arms as he pulled them together to block. The line suddenly widened quickly, telling Jealous this wasn't a minor wound like he had hoped.

A bright blue and murky beige liquid flew through the air after Uru's kick ended, and Jealous stared at it like he'd never seen it before. Taking the delay to his advantage, the redhead drew his leg down again, effectively breaking through Jealous's defense, and drew and arm back to slash at his chest. He froze, claws inches away from the skin as a burning, white hot pain flew through his shoulder blades and his side and hand.

Uru stared blankly, almost confused at the dagger-like neon pink claw that was jammed through his palm. Jealous's breathing was accelerated, as he watched the redhead furiously. He had had little to process his actions, but decided that the effect had been just.

Yamato started, turning when he heard a ragged cry. He froze, eyes wide and jaw hanging. Uru was on his knees, shoulders limp. He clenched his eyes tight, forcing himself not to whimper. It had been so long since Uru had fought and had been wounded...

Staring at the two, Yamato wasn't sure what to do now. The door was far from open, and Uru was already out of commission it seemed. Fear ran like sparks through his veins as he watched the spider walk around Uru, and settle his gazes on Yamato and Sayama. He backed against the sealed door, feeling it reel against his weight.

Yamato had never been this terrified before. It was like an empty terror, one he couldn't grasp because it was just that complete. Jealous kept up his easy pace, knowing the two humans wouldn't have anywhere to go. He could take his time.

Upon reaching the two, a smirk covered his dark face. So this was the maiden he'd been so intent on murdering? Sayama barely twitched as he absently kicked her side.

In what seemed like a clumsy flash, Yamato dove forwards, his dagger thrust forward. "You bastard!! Don't you fucking touch her!!" he yelled.

Jealous narrowly avoided the blow, narrowing his eyes as he noticed the brunette had caught his hip with the blade. Swiftly, he batted him aside like paper. "Stupid little...!" he swore.

Yamato fell hard, but didn't dare stay down. If Uru couldn't protect them, then he would have to!! He forced his quivering arms to thrust the blade at the other again, stopping when a dagger like leg struck next to his head.

"Don't you know when the quit?" the alien snapped, annoyed. He hated enemies that wasted his time with their futile efforts.

A voice startled the both of them. "Don't YOU!!"

Jealous jumped at the ragged, pained voice. He turned, and jerked out of the way as a claw narrowly past his skull. He swung an arm out, intent on smashing the weak bones of his enemy. Yamato stared in open shock as Uru hopped backwards. He didn't know how, but he was relieved to see the other alien alive.

Turning his attention on the wounded redhead, Jealous felt his irritation rise. He didn't like it when his expectations went awry, not at all. He was a general, a famous one, and his plans were almost always foolproof. He hated it when someone made HIM the fool.

But that was how Ultimo was, wasn't he? He couldn't live without fucking SOMETHING up, he thought bitterly.

Uru knew he was near the end of his rope. To begin with, his build was not meant for heavy blows, but rather quick, stealthy kills. Wheezing, he was sure something was broken. The stabs from Jealous had snapped a few things, or it felt like it. Not that it took much to break Uru. His bones were like a bird's, hollow and fragile.

He had to end this quickly, he decided. Glancing around, he thought wildly that maybe he could pull down the ceiling. It would probably kill him, but it would smash Jealous for sure. All he'd have to do was get him to cling for more than a few seconds, and the spider alien's weight would do the work for him. Or he hoped.

Its worth it, he thought, glancing at Yamato. It had to be.

"What? Just gonna stand there? Is that what the Worthless Prince is good for?" he called, scoffing in disgust.

All of the other alien's eyes narrowed. "Like you're one to talk!" he sneered, ducking and racing forwards.

Uru waited for the other, crouching down low and springing up at the last moment, Jealous's claws barely missing. As expected, the incensed alien followed, jabbing his back legs into the ceiling. Swallowing, the redhead kicked at Jealous, doing whatever he could to make the groaning plaster and boards buckle under their weight. If Jealous noticed, he didn't seem to care, kicking back furiously.

Yamato noticed the spider web crack that raced over the ceiling, eyes wide and face pale. He grabbed Sayama, tugging her close to himself. What was Uru thinking?! Was he insane?! It took Jealous only a moment to catch the brunette's thoughts, before it began to click.

He looked at Uru, who grinned back. He had only a second to shriek as the entire second floor crashed down. Beds, dressers, and anything else that may have been overhead smashed down, burying the two quickly and mercilessly. Yamato watched the dust clear, the same dry terror filling him once again as all slowly quieted. Knick knacks and furniture continued to tumble, but for the most part, nothing else fell on the heavy piles of debris.

"U-Uru...?" he called out, after he could breath without choking on the dust that filled the air.

No one replied.

0000000000

OMFG ITS FINISH GAWD. (flops and sighs) i-i never wrote a battle scene before, least of all one like this...so, i hope i did a little okay. it seems a little repetetive and a little off topic...i tried to put in enough details so that this chapter accomplished more than just a battle. the next chapter should go quicker ne.

other notes! "you're still flat" refers to jealous's abdomen. why? because it swells up when he er, has eggs (shot) his race evolved so that most could bear young, though warriors just wont for obvious reasons...uru was picking on him for his lack of er...(shrugs) you can connect the dots yeah?

the "asshat" bit was cuz in uru and jealous's language, thats what yamato's name translates to.

omake~!!

news anchor: this just in!! it appears there has been ANOTHER murder!!!  
ambulence guy: HANG IN THER MISS! ;A; IT'LL BE OKAY!!!!  
levi: X__x (why a girl!?) i-its fine....(pukes up blood) t-third time...t-this w-week....

girl: i bet it has something to do with drugs!  
lune: ARE YOU SHITTING ME D8 thats the best you can come up with?! why not revenge, or psychotic love!!!  
girls:....  
sayama:...

uru: (raiding fridge) wah~ what a great day~ nothing could go wrong!!...OMFG THERES NO MAYO WHY NO, I LOVE MAYO ;A; (sobs violently)  
jealous: A (hands mayo)  
uru: oh, thank you~!!....hey wait...

jealous: (does cool run- slips and falls from ceiling) MAIDEN DAMMIT!!!  
uru: pffft HAHA!!!  
jealous: STFU! ;A;

yamato:...u-uru? URU?!  
uru:....  
yamato: NO!!!!  
sayama: WILL YOU STFU PEOPLE D8 I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!!!  
yamato:..............................  
(squeaky toy falls in the bg)


	9. Chapter 9

Suuuuper lame and short, but I didnt wanna pack too much into it XD;; so well...i apologize if it isnt good, I really forced myself x__x (its filler...)

warnings: OOC (which...isnt ooc in this AU, but still), shounen ai...  
inspiration: nothing this time around 8D;;  
disclaimer: never gonna (give you up~ never gonna letchu down, never gonna- (shotshotshot) never gonna be mine~~ please dont sue

onwaaaaard! (hopefully the next chapter wont be lameorz)

000000000

Through the long fringes of burgundy hair, he could see gray, billowy skies. Softly, like the feathers on his back and tail, a white substance fell. Going cross eyed, the redhead sneezed when one landed on his nose. It wasn't something many people from his planet had ever seen before.

He shivered, drawing his weapon closer to himself, and focused on the world ahead of himself. In the distance, he could see a wispy trail of black smoke, and if he could use his frozen over gadgets, he could probably see a settlement. Relief washed over himself, so strong, he felt sick to his stomach. Behind him, he could hear his soldiers crying, and begging for a break. None of them were used to much below 40 degrees, least of all below zero.

He had no pity for them, continuing on, and leaving his soldiers where they dropped. Weaklings were not welcome in this world, nor his army. Behind them, in the vast white desert, lay countless bodies between themselves and their frozen war ship. Before them, he did not know what that might be.

"T-There, I see it!" a soldier shouted.

Everyone glanced at the horizon, and for a moment, they saw nothing. The snow was blowing far too harsh, and they were strung out to the point of homicide. He himself was about to kill the shrieking soldier, if he didn't stop right now. But, as the snow began to recede from their vision, a glow caught their attention.

Blinking rapidly, the general frowned and narrowed his eyes. He held up a hand, and wordlessly, the others froze. It was faint, and otherworldly. The gold of the glowing object spun rapidly in the wind, but had a misty look to it. It captured their attention, the weaving of the golden mist wrapping around their minds and seeming...warm.

So warm, he thought, eyes closing slightly, shoulders relaxing. He couldn't think past how warm it felt. A hand shook him, and at first, he ignored it. But it kept insisting, growing more difficult to ignore. Finally, just before he lost it, he spun around to demand what the hell the soldier wanted.

His eyes met an off white ceiling. Blinking slowly, the redhead groaned. It felt like someone glued his eyelids down. Everything was sore, burning almost, and he felt the urge to drown himself in the deep oceans of his home. Instead, Uru bit his lip hard, and looked over towards the owner of the hand, that was now still.

Yamato looked more relieved than words could describe. Relaxing from his rigid posture, the brunette sank back into the chair he had positioned next to the bed. "What a relief..." he mumbled.

Uru frowned, confused, and tried to sit up. Almost instantly, he hissed, and fell back to the old mattress. He whimpered for a moment, listening to Yamato swear to himself and check him quickly.

"Don't do that, idiot!" Yamato snapped, making sure no green blood was streaming from the bandages around his shoulders. "You're messed up, don't move like that!"

Messed up? Uru thought, confused. Glancing sluggishly at himself, or what he could see, he felt his heart stop for a moment. Bandages, some soaked through, wrapped around almost all of what he could see of himself. Which scared him, because he could almost see most of his chest, where blankets didn't hide it. Eyes widening, he felt his pulse quicken. What happened to him?

The brunette scratched the back of his head, watching Uru nervously. He wasn't sure how to take the confused expression, and he didn't want to annoy him. After what he'd witnessed...Yamato wasn't sure he would ever forget what he had seen. Uru had been terrifying, from when he actually saw and processed the fight. Uru glanced at him, after a moment of drawing blanks.

"You uh..." Yamato mumbled, "you fought this crazy alien called Jealous...and well, you beat him. I think. You...got your ass handed to you though, I wont lie."

The redhead was quiet, processing this and fitting it to the blanks in his head. He certainly remembered Jealous, and a little of Sayama. But past that, not much else rang a bell. They were silent for a time, just trying to think of what to say or do. After a moment, Yamato sighed.

"_Are you alright?"_ the redhead murmured, voice quiet.

Yamato blinked rapidly, and looked at the alien in confusion. "What?"

"_I asked if you were alright..."_

The brunette listened, hearing only the familiar clicks and purrs and sounds of waves. He stared at Uru's jade green lips, confused, and wondered if he was hearing right. "What now?"

Uru scowled. He was too tired for this. "_Cant you hear me? I asked if you were alright!"_

"..." Yamato just stared. Nope, he was right. Uru wasn't speaking Japanese, or any language he vaguely knew of. It was that strange language he sometimes spoke, whispery and peaceful. Though, from the tone, he could guess that Uru was NOT happy, let alone peaceful.

The redhead growled under his breath, and opened his mouth again. "_You could at least an-"_ he stopped short. Was...was that HIS voice? Eyes widening, Uru reached up quickly with a hand and patted his face. He cried out, feeling the pain of metal digging into his skin. Oh Maiden, he thought. Oh Maiden, _no_ please don't tell me! Yamato stared, nervous and unsure of what to say or do. On some level, he had a feeling he knew what was wrong, but he also knew that if he was right, all sorts of problems would come up.

"...can you...not speak Japanese now?" he asked carefully, unsure of how that was even possible. Hadn't Uru always known?

Uru looked up at Yamato quickly, eyes wide and face a pale pink. He didn't dare speak.

A long silence went by, Uru panicking silently, and Yamato just too disgruntled to speak. How had Uru spoken this whole time, if he hadn't known ANY Japanese? The answer alluded him. Uru kept fondling the side of his face, ignoring the searing pain, eyes welling up from more than agony.

Quickly, like a typhoon, hopelessness swept over him. Not only was his translator broken, nay, DESTROYED, but he was wounded. What if something happened? Yamato jumped, noticing the tears begin to fall. A lump lodged itself in his throat.

"H-Hey, don't cry! I-Its okay, don't cry!"

Uru looked up, and glared miserably. He wished he could explain why it WASNT alright. He was too upset to possibly think of the golden lining, and Yamato's concern fell on deaf ears. Biting his lip, the brunette debated hugging the redhead. Hugs fixed things, didn't they? Without really thinking, he wrapped his arms around the alien, who was still lying down and quietly crying to himself.

Freezing up, the redhead blinked quickly. Flicking his eyes to look at Yamato, he felt his lower lip quiver a little. The brunette was hugging him, firmly, but not hard enough to irritate his bandages too much. Even if his wounds HAD been gushing, just then, Uru wouldn't have noticed a thing aside from how fast both of their hearts were beating, and how warm his face suddenly got.

Stupid, shove him away! He thought furiously. No one was allowed to hug him! Don't let him! But the redhead ignored the voices, focusing on how pleasant it felt to hug someone again. He allowed himself to slightly nuzzle the other male, but refused to hug back. Not that he really could, his shoulder wounds would reopen.

After a moment, Yamato mumbled, "Are you done crying?"

Uru nodded slowly, swallowing. Yamato pulled away carefully, and sighed in relief. He sat back down and shifted on his chair, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry if that was weird...my mom always told me...that hugs help when someone is upset."

The redhead fought the small smile that began to form. The brunette smiled a little, and decided maybe the hug had been a good tactic. The two remained silent for a little while longer, unsure of what to do, while small shocks of happiness shot over them from the hug. Neither had hugged anyone in a while. But as the bliss began to fade, Uru's mood did as well. He still couldn't speak, and his translator was still broken.

Noticing the gloom, Yamato winced. What could he do to make the redhead happy? A thought struck him, and he stood quickly, surprising the alien as he walked quickly from the room. Uru blinked In confusion, and craned his neck -stopping when the shoulder pain grew- to try and see where the brunette went to.

Yamato wasn't gone for long, returning with a strange circular object in hand. To Uru, it looked like the spicy foods from his home planet, but to humans, it was known as a cookie. The redhead stared at the food blankly, frowning as the teen sat down and reached out, presenting it to him.

"Its a cookie." Yamato explained brightly. "When people get sad, sometimes it helps. Try it."

Uru eyed it carefully, unable to see the ingredients. He had turned down many foods from Yamato before now, as they were poisonous to his race. But now...how would he know? And it DID smell good, he wouldn't lie. Carefully, as not to irritate his shoulder wounds, he grasped the cookie. It crumbled a little in his hand, and he winced. Yamato chewed the inside of his cheek nervously.

After a good few seconds of sniffing and hesitantly licking the treat, the redhead placed it in his mouth and chewed. Immediately his eyes widened, crossed a little, and he placed a hand over his mouth. Uru paled, gagging and looking anywhere for a place to spit, and Yamato quickly handed him a garbage bin by his desk. He watched in terror as Uru promptly spit the cookie up, hoping he hadn't accidentally killed Uru.

Whining, the redhead fanned at his mouth, looking sick to his stomach. Yamato hovered nervously nearby, but kept far enough that the alien wouldn't puke on him.

"N-No good?" he asked.

Searching for a word, the redhead shivered. "Oh...Oh su na jee..." he mumbled.

It took the brunette to piece that together as otsunaaji, and he winced. "Spicy? How? Its full of sugar..."

That explains that, Uru thought bitterly. Not all sweeteners had the same effect as they did on humans, as they did on Uru. In fact, most were downright bitter or painfully spicy. He had found this out quickly, and had he known that cookies had sugar in them...

"Sorry, uh...is there...anything else I could make to make up for that?" Yamato asked, feeling a little stupid.

Uru glanced at him, a withering glare on his features. After a moment, he decided maybe a previous meal would suffice. He gestured to the brunette's desk, where he knew a stack of notebook paper lay. Yamato followed his gaze, and put the pieces together quickly enough, grabbing a few sheets and a pencil for the alien. Uru nodded his thanks, taking the items and quickly scribbling a drawing.

Yamato watched curiously as the redhead drew what looked like a bowl and noodles, with...circular things above it. Once done, the redhead handed his friend the paper and looked at him expectantly. Yamato stared at the drawing for a few seconds, before getting up and leaving with a nod.

"I'll be back in a sec. Don't kill yourself." he said as he left.

Uru rolled his eyes and laid back into the bed, sighing quietly to himself. He tried not to dwell on anything, telling himself it would make him sick again. But it was difficult, Uru wouldn't lie. Thankfully, Yamato wasn't gone for more than ten or so minutes, returning shortly with a bowl. The redhead instantly brightened at the familiar smell, before stopping short, eyebrows knitting together.

It smelled...strange.

Yamato made a face, thrusting the bowl out. "What? Its not bad..."

It took him a moment to realize this was not ramen. Instead of the salty scent, there was an almost sweet one in its place. He heard no broth sloshing, but he noticed a sauce on the damp noodles. Uru stared blankly, taking the bowl hesitantly, still recalling the cookie incident. He took a careful whiff of the noodles, eye twitching at the spicy scent. Sweet meant spicy, he told himself. He hoped this wasn't as bad as a cookie....

"Its spaghetti." Yamato mumbled, feeling vaguely insulted with how closely it was examined. "Its like ramen...but well, not. It looked like your picture, so I figured..."

"_Stupid humans and their stupid assumptions.._" the alien muttered, poking at the noodles with the chopsticks that had come with the bowl.

The brunette pretended not to hear that. Not that he understood it, but the tone...already he felt like strangling the other. Uru carefully twirled his chopsticks, and brought them to his split jade lips. Yamato watched in mild suspense, expecting a shriek -and half hoping for it, after that comment- but surprised when nothing of the sort happened.

Instead...something strange occurred. The redhead's sour face became awestruck. Everything in the redhead's body seemed to tingle for a moment, before his eyes closed and he smiled goofily. Yamato wondered if he'd make it out of the room before the alien exploded on him. He watched as Uru continued to eat, stuffing his face almost frantically.

Unbeknownst to Yamato, Uru rapidly became addicted to what he would later learn was spaghetti. Something about the taste, was oddly -maybe disgustingly- sweet and bitter, and it reminded him strongly of a food back home. That was made from plants though, and was often used for alcohols.

"I assume its good?" he said, blinking at the reaction.

Uru nodded quickly and continued to eat. An hour later, when the bowl was empty and his bandages changed, the redhead was fast asleep. Yamato watched him in partial bordem, leaning on his knee with his head in his hand. He couldn't quite get over how peaceful the redhead looked, or how lovely he was with a faint blush in his sleep.

What disgruntled him about this was that Uru WAS lovely. And after the hug, Yamato felt...distinctly _gay_. Which he was NOT. He pretended not to notice this, and told himself it was just because the alien was so feminine.

000

Sayama recalled pain, sharp stinging agony that raced through her veins like mercury. Then, there was numbness and the feeling that she was floating. It was a terrifying sensation, she recalls. Horrible. She felt sick to her stomach just by the memory. But she thought she could hear Yamato in the darkness, pressing through the thick black and ink.

"_Don't die...please don't!"_

She didn't know why that was there. She didn't know why she thought she heard something that started with an i and ended with an oo sound. But strangely enough, it had helped her overcome the sweeping desire to just stay in that hammock of darkness. Then, past the numbness, the floating turned to a jerky hop step.

After that, all Sayama recalled was the off-white walls of the hospital room. She had blinked sluggishly, the pain still racing up and down her body, but no longer nearly as violent. The nurse had explained that she had been near fatally poisoned by a spider. She remembered staring at the plump woman, who seemed very relaxed with the situation. The woman explained that a young man had brought her here, clearly drained with the terror that she might die.

Sayama recalls hearing Yamato's voice in her memories, and felt her heart speed up. She hadn't seen him in the hospital that night, nor the day after, but she recalled feeling so eager to see him again. All she had thought was that she had to thank him. Though, she did wonder how he managed to be in her house, especially since she was sure she hadn't invited him. It sent a tiny thrill through her to imagine why he might have been there, but she shoved it down quickly. She wanted to know the truth, not indulge in the fantasies she'd entertained for years.

School was almost startling, Sayama decided. She hesitated outside of the double doors that lead inside, just watching the ebb and flow of students pass through them warily. A few people paused, asked if she was alright, but most didn't seem to notice she was even there.

A gust blew by, ruffling her hair, and throwing it into her view. Reaching up, she brushed it back, watching the world around her carefully. Everything startled her, from her peers, to the ribbon that waved gently in the breeze from her hair. But she shoved it down quickly, feeling silly for jumping at nothing. She saw Kiyose and Oume pass by, but didn't hail them down. She didn't know why, but she felt as if her recent fears would fall on deaf and confused ears.

Sighing, she told herself to stop being ridiculous. Kiyose and Oume were Sayama's good friends, why wouldn't they understand! A hand settled on her shoulder, and once more, Sayama found herself jumping. Blinking quickly, she turned her attention upwards, on none other than Akitsu. The girl was frowning softly, eyes concerned as she looked down at her almost trembling friend.

"Sayama? Whats wrong? You seem jumpy."

Smiling weakly, the brunette forced her heartbeat to calm. "I-I'm just a little nervous."

"You wanna talk about it?" the much taller girl asked, voice low.

Sayama bit her lip, debating this. Would Akitsu understand? Of course she would, she thought. Akitsu had been the one to comfort and keep her company for the last few weeks or so. "Well...you see-"

"S-Sayama-san!" a voice called.

Jumping, the girl felt her heart start up all over again. Akitsu rolled her eyes, glaring at the brunette who was jogging towards them. He didn't seem to take notice of the look, too focused on Sayama to notice or care.

"Yamato-kun, hello..." she greeted, a small smile on her face.

A moment of silence passed, both wondering how to approach the other. "S-So, feeling better?" he asked, concerned.

Sayama nodded. "Y-Yeah, I feel much better. Thank you for..."

Yamato's eyes briefly darkened at the memory. Past the images of Sayama's twitching body, fully under the effects of the poison, he remembered Uru's body under all that rubble, and all the blood on him. He shook his head.

"Its fine, I'm just glad you're okay." he said, smiling brightly.

The girl flashed a bigger smile in response, her heart jumping at the sight. They said nothing, and it was Akitsu who managed to pull them from themselves.

"Guys, we'll be late!" she snapped, eye twitching. Couldn't their flirting wait till lunch?

The two jumped, and laughed awkwardly. Sayama glanced up at Yamato and opened her mouth to say something before closing it. She hurried on ahead of her two massive friends, giddy and telling herself to calm down. Akitsu watched her go, feeling an odd pressure in her chest before glancing at Yamato.

"So what WERE you doing at her house?" she asked.

No tact, the male thought. "I-I..."

A long silence grew, confirming nothing but doubt in Akitsu's heart. Narrowing her eyes, the girl felt disgust run through her. In her minds eye, she pictured a gloomy Lune when he had heard about this event, and she couldn't forgive Yamato for making him upset.

Snorting, the girl waved a hand. "Whatever."

With that, she stormed off. Yamato blinked after her, watching her leave the area in confusion. He brushed it off, figuring girls were strange creatures and he didn't need to understand any except for Sayama. He couldn't get passed the strange feeling in the pit of his belly though...

000

Sayama had been attacked, Lune thought. There was no mention of it in the news, but her hospitalization and paranoia spoke louder than ink on paper could. He watched the girl from across the room, eyes bitter and narrowed.

Until this week, he would never have wished death on the girl. They hadn't been good friends, and ever since Yamato showed up, they were even less than that, but he hadn't ever wanted her to die. She was a good person, if not a little too much of a tease for Lune's tastes.

But then again, Yamato hadn't been at her house after dark in years. And the way they acted now only solidified his assumptions. And Lune felt nothing but bitter hatred and betrayal. He knew it was coming but...

"Lune-kun...?"

Jumping, the blond realized there was a shadow cast over his desk. Looking up, he noticed Akitsu and Kiyose hovering over him. He smiled just a little too sweetly at the duo.

"Oh, hello. What is it?"

"I-Is something wrong?" Kiyose asked, her eyes bubbling up a little.

Shrugging, the boy replied, "Not especially, why?"

"Cut the bullshit Kodaira." Akitsu snapped. "Do you want me to talk to em? Rough em up?" she asked, punching her palm.

Lune felt his heart skip a beat at the implications. "N-No, I'd rather you wouldn't hurt Yamato-kun...."

"He didn't say anything about Sayama." Kiyose hummed, glancing at her taller friend.

Akitsu glanced back, feeling herself smile a little at the girl. She shared her dislike for their friend at the moment, and was far more eager to show it than Akitsu was. Kiyose had always disliked Sayama to a point, and Akitsu wondered if it had anything to do with her relationship with Lune.

The blond waved a hand. "I would rather not deal with the drama." Yamato would hate me, he thought.

"We wouldn't even mention your name, we really could." Kiyose persisted.

Akitsu brushed back a strand of hair, rolling her eyes. "As if Yamato wouldn't figure it out."

"He isn't _that_ bright." Lune chimed, his smile shrinking, but far more real.

A small bout of laughter echoed from the trio. For a moment, Lune felt much better about the entire situation. He wouldn't dare entertain the idea that they could get away with hurting Sayama, but the images made him happier. A blood covered Sayama was much better than a still breathing one.

00000000000

d-done for nao. This was kinda fun, to be honest. Btw, I dont hate sayama...so um, I hope people dont get that idea XD

OMAKE~!

uru: are you okay?  
yamato: huh?  
uru: are you okay?  
yamato:....what nao?  
uru: i asked if you were BEEPing okay! cant you BEEPing hear a BEEPing thing i'm BEEPing saying!  
yamato: Dl;; (thank god for censoring...i wonder what he said)  
uru: URGH! D8

akitsu: so what WERE you doing there?  
yamato: watching to aliens beat the shit out of each other, and wondering if i could look up sayama-san's skirt  
akitsu:................(blank stare)  
yamato: IMEAN! i was saying hi A;;  
akitsu: right...

levi: t-the murders have stopped? i'm safe? hahaha....AHAHAHA, I'M SAFE! 8D (flai-)  
?: (runs him over) WATCH WHERE YOU'RE WALKIN D8  
levi:....e-eighth time t-this week-k....

done till next time =w=


	10. Chapter 10

T-tadaaaa~ a chapter down! I hope i didnt take too long ;; (was busy worrying over ten different things at once, and the order of the events here)

warnings: OOCish, hinted sex, annoying uru, and cursing (kinda)  
inspiration: "this aint a love song, this is goodbye" by scouting for girls  
rating: T  
disclaimer: not mine, never will be~

000000000000000000

"I-I think...I think I'm going to do what they mentioned. What we...were talking about."

The other boy's head snapped up from their meager fire, eyes wide and disbelieving. He stared at the redhead, eyes searching the sad, murky emerald one's for any chance that this was a joke. He found none, and even less when tears began to well up.

"You're...you're serious?" he whispered, absently scrapping the inside of his cheek against a sharp fang.

The redhead averted his eyes, and said nothing.

"You're not..."

"No..."

Eyes shaking a little, as if they wanted to explode, the boy asked, "Why? What made you...?"

Rubbing a thin arm -so thin it could break, he thought- the redhead replied quietly. "The job would pay good. Better than good. We could eat as much as we'd like, and...and we would have a home...w-we could be happy." his voice quivered. "I want us to be happy."

I don't need happy! I don't need a house or money or food! he thought, feeling betrayed and heartbroken. He didn't reply. But his friend could see what he thought, he knew, from the way his jaw quivered, and how his bright eyes filled up.

Quickly, without a word said, the redhead embraced his trembling friend, hugging him close. He could hear the redhead start to break down, how his voice was shattered with choked sobs. "I-I wont i-if you don't w-want me to, I wont. B-But I...I just...I'm so tired of starving...I'm so tired...aren't you tired? You have t-to be!"

The black haired boy resisted the urge to shove the other away, clinging just as hard. He shook his head, never being good with words. "I don't care! I-I...Who needs shelter and food and...and..."

"W-We do...You know that...I-It wouldn't be forever, I'd visit and call and send money and and-"

He didn't care. He didn't care if Uru sent a truck load of that gold from Earth to him. It wouldn't mean a thing if he could eat and not see the other's face at the same time! He recognized that this was selfish and ridiculous, because the famine wasn't showing signs of stopping, and a military job would be great for someone like Uru. He knew he himself could never get the job, as he was a lesser race and his combat skills were horrid.

But even with all the upsides...he didn't want to let the other go. And from the way Uru was sobbing against his thin shoulder, he could imagine the sentiment was shared. Uru clung, dragging them down side by side onto the cold cement of the lower district, and nuzzled his greasy hair. Mindful of his claws, the other dug his hands in against the other's lower back, and buried his nose in the redhead's collarbone.

They stayed that way for a while, not saying anything, with no energy to fight or argue, and no desire to. All was quiet, except for the ever present whir of cheap machinery and the sound of the waves from far away. The fire popped and crackled nearby, devoid of the food. Neither complained about how the topic of food made them sick with hunger.

"You know I love you, right?" the redhead murmured, voice cracked, and quivering.

He nodded, nose rubbing awkwardly against the other's pale pink skin. He snuffled, and the redhead ran a nervous hand through his short, messy black hair.

"So you know I'll be back. Right?"

He could hear him think, _because I could never leave you_. He nodded.

They went silent, and after a moment, began their almost ritualistic nightly activities. This time, as he watched the redhead squirm and pant, the thought that this wouldn't happen again haunted his mind. Even when his friend touched him, the feeling made a hollow, weightless falling feeling resound through him. It didn't feel right, not like it should. It felt like they were digging a hole they couldn't get out of.

And he hated it.

000

Uru heaved a sigh, stirring his ramen absently. His eyes were glazed as he watched the broth slosh about, hardly even noticing Yamato. His mind was reeling at the memories that flooded his mind, and all of this because of his recent encounter.

He hoped he was okay...now that he wasn't in his fighting mindset, Uru was nothing more than terrified and hung up on the thought that he might NOT be okay. Of course, he had intended for the spider like alien to at least suffer serious wounds, so he doubted he escaped safely...

Yamato shifted uneasily, watching the clearly unhappy alien sulk. "Whats...wrong?"

Snapping from his thoughts, the redhead looked up, clueless and surprised. "_Awua?"_

"You look...really upset."

Blinking strangely at the brunette, Uru smiled bitterly. It must really be obvious, he thought. He shrugged, not knowing how exactly to communicate this, and not sure he should. He hadn't ever told anyone about Jealous. It was like a dark secret, the kind no one ever wanted to explain, or maybe just couldn't. Uru couldn't explain. No one had ever been able to understand.

Yamato narrowed his eyes. "Don't shrug, if somethings wrong then explain." his mother would beat him if he had done that, he thought.

Uru shot him a leveled, deadpanned expression. "_Onuo_." he replied.

"And stop with the words I cant understand! Geez...just scribble it down in pictures if you can."

"_Awuo zireuo gekiwu?_" he snapped.

Yamato felt the urge to beat the other. It wasn't that the different language made him angry, it was that Uru wanted nothing to do with communicating with him, and it was like he was just using this to anger him. He wouldn't lie, it WAS frustrating not understanding what was being said.

Watching the other's forehead crease with aggravation made Uru's stomach jump, and he found himself grinning a little to himself. He almost expected the human to start something, and was a little disappointed when he didn't.

"Whatever. Fine. Keep it to yourself then." the brunette spat, standing and leaving the room.

Uru watched him go, partly stunned. He bit his lip, narrowed his eyes, and debated throwing the ramen at the wall. Of course, he wouldn't. He was far too humble and tame to be so disrespectful. He just felt...so sick and upset at the moment. Like he wanted to throw up his thoughts, or kill something to get rid of the anger.

Instead, he forced himself to eat. The pain from force feeding himself drowned out the ache in his chest, and that was all he wanted right now. He could deal with heartbreak later, when Yamato wasn't upset, and they weren't all in danger.

When will that be? He thought. Wasn't that the entire reason he was sick at the moment?

He shoved the thoughts aside and let his head fall into his hand. Uru chewed his ramen slowly, careful not to let his tears or runny nose touch the noodles.

000

When Uru came to, he was in Yamato's bed, and securely tucked in. He blinked drowsily, glancing around, before sitting up. It was midday, or he assumed so, by the amount of sun pouring in through Yamato's window. The curtains were closed, protecting him from view, and a plate of food and water was above him on the shelves of the headboard.

Uru debated getting up to eat, or if he should just lay and sulk. He remembered annoying the hell out of Yamato with his mood early yesterday, and suddenly felt terribly guilty. Sucking in a breath, he recalled the images that haunted his mind when his past wasn't, and closed his eyes. They filled him with a comforting warmth, but only made him feel worse.

He honestly hadn't meant to snap like that, he just...couldn't help it. And right now, comfort was not welcomed. He didn't feel that he deserved any, and the human's sympathy only aggravated him. He wished he could tell him this...

With a sigh, the redhead sat up, wincing as his wounds began to sting. They were far less painful than yesterday, and Uru identified the cause being the faintly glowing Soul sphere resting on the bed next to him. His eyes softened at this. Had Yamato been healing him with this...?

The guilt settled further into his stomach, and he bit his swollen jade lip. He chose to focus on the scent of ramen above, and moved so that he could grasp the Styrofoam cup and the chopsticks next to it. It was then that he noticed something strange.

Beneath the cup was a book with a worn cover, and a note. He could JUST read the basic message of it.

_Yo,_

_I uh, dunno if you can read this. Probably not..._

_But I dragged out an old dictionary from the shelf._

_Figured it might help you. If you need any help,_

_just wait till I get back from school..._

There was no name or signature to show who wrote the note, but Uru could guess. Smiling a little to himself, he set it aside, glancing at the book curiously. He grabbed his ramen and sat back down, leaning against the pillow as he settled himself back in. His tail flicked from the end of the comforter as he ate.

I'll have to thank him, he thought.

000

The world swam as Jealous woke up. All of his eyes fought to regain concentration, swiveling in too many directions at once. A searing pain prevented him from fully focusing however, and he recognized it as the sting of a head wound. Hissing, he reached up to touch it gingerly. Pressing the tip of his finger against the tender spot, he felt his eye twitch.

"Great..." he muttered, mouth cottony and thick from lack of use.

He had a horrible dream, and now he was suffering from the worst headache he'd had in years. Laying in bed, he heaved a sigh, glowering halfheartedly at the red tinged ceiling. He hated the lighting in the ship and even more in the cabins. It was like the ship's owner didn't give two shits about aesthetics.

"Probably doesn't...selfish prat."

After he had dragged himself from that house, broken and gushing blood, Jealous was amazed he had survived to see the detestable ceiling. Ultimo had done a number on him, for such a ridiculous plan, he conceded. Then again, Ultimo had always been good at halfassed battles. Jealous...not so much.

He sighed again, wishing he could drink, but unsure if anyone was around to get him something. He hated feeling so useless, it just reminded him of the circumstances that lead to this. The door hissed, sliding open quickly, and Jealous felt his heart stop. He turned his head slowly, skin squirming, to see none other than his commander.

The disdainful, amber eyes paid his wounds no heed, as their owner walked further into the room. "I see you're awake. About fuckin time!"

00000000

AND DONE. Sorry its so short X_x i hope you enjoy nonetheless. It shall continue into the next chapter~! (holy shit, this got past 10 chapters almost? This...this is a new record.) i hope this chapter wasnt TOO confusing or spoiler ridden...or disapointing.

Random extra~

uru's dictionary:

uru: awuo means why (points at the o) thats the difference between awua, which means what. Almost all of the basic questions -who, what, why, where, when- will start with awu (nodnod) our language was originally water based, so old words, and basic root words will always sound wavey

omake~!

uru: you know i love you right?  
?: no! you're a bitch, you dont love me at all!  
uru: dont talk to mom that way D8 (smacks)  
?: ;A; thats too kinky for me, plz dont do that again...  
uru: ...i think i died inside

uru: i think i'm gonna do that thing...  
?: you're gonna wear girls clothing? dresses right? pleeeeaaase tell me short skirts, you know i like skirts!  
uru:...no, not that thing dear

uru: i think i'm gonna do that thing...  
?: w-we're gonna have a baby?  
uru: w-what! i'm 12, i cant!  
?: well shit...

yamato: dont shrug at me young man!  
uru: i'm older than you D8  
yamato: and stop speaking german!  
uru:...it doesnt even sound german  
yamato: and now its french! god, cant you stick to one language!  
uru: )8 (debates throwing food at)

yamato: uru, are you okay-?  
uru: NO ;A; i just got snot in my ramen, and broth in my eyes! (sobsob)  
yamato:...okay then

jealous: (wakes up and whines) gaaaawd i had this hot dream, and then i woke up to a hangover...and theres no hot anything in my bed ;A; THIS STORY SUCKS D8


	11. Chapter 11

ALAS! it updates. Took forever and a nipple, didnt it? eh. I shoved my way through it, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

Warnings: language, ooc, fillerrrrrrish  
inspiration: "music again" by adam lambert, "quiet" by lights.  
Disclaimer: not mine, never will be =w=;;

pika designed this alien as well~!

00000000

The person that stood before Jealous was a thin, lanky teenager, with an aura of disaster about him. He was an alien, just as he himself was, but he was much different from Uru or Jealous in appearance. He was a black color, with wild jet black hair to match. Where it wasn't fluffed up, it hung limply in thick strands over his sharply spiked shoulder blades. On his back were four long, sharp protrusions, with a bright green film along their undersides. His shell-like skin formed a circle around the underside of his chest, where the skin seemed pinched together and jagged. The skin here was a dark green, but noticeable.

His arms were long, easily to his kneecaps. They were equipped with spindly, claw-less fingers, that were currently tapping his thin forearm in an effort to keep his temper in. His legs bent sharply back at the kneecap, continued on back in a horizontal line that was edged with a sharp tip. From there, the abruptly went vertical, ending in long, large feet. These also had small claws, but nothing outwardly frightening. On his lower back was a thick, armored protrusion, like that of a tail. His abdomen was decorated minimally with short diagonal lines.

The dark alien's face was more colorful than the rest of him. From his hairline, to the curves of his cheek bones, was a soft, very light green. From there, the rest of his face was a gray, mostly hidden behind long, messy bangs. His nose was slightly pushed up, and consisted only of two nostrils, which were parted by maybe an inch. From under his forelocks, three winged extensions hung, firm, with a gradient of black to green. From the center of his forehead, two triangular pieces of skin grew, growing an inch higher past the hair line. Under the male's messy bangs, two amber eyes peered.

Jealous squirmed. Whenever he saw this person, his insides just tied themselves in a knot, and not in a good way. He would have been clenching the bedsheets, if he felt it would comfort him any. The other, taller alien stepped forward, his feet tapping against the metal floor.

"You're finally awake." he hummed. "About fuckin time."

He said nothing, but sawed absently at the inside of his cheek with a sharp fang. The other continued, tilting his head to one side. "What? Did he break your voice box to?"

"No."

"No, what now?"

"No _sir_." he ground out.

"Right." the darker male hummed. "So, besides getting your ass kicked, and handed to you, what DID you accomplish?" he questioned, voice taking on a darker tone.

And this was what Jealous had feared. What could he really say? Outwardly, it seemed pretty likely that this Sayama girl was the one they were looking for. It also seemed a lot like he'd ruined any chance they had of getting her. To him? This was probably NOT the best way to return to his base. Panicking, the spider alien looked for any way to clear his name. Anything would do, so long as he didn't die.

His leader snorted. "As I thought. You didn't get anything fucking done. You just fucked shit up." he spat, eyes darkening.

"N-No, I found something-"

"Bullshit. You're as useless as your little friend."

The words cut into Jealous, but he refused to let it show. "Sir, I do have information! And it would put us far ahead of Ultimo!"

The other paused, raising an eyebrow. "Oh really? What is it then?"

Jealous wracked his brain for something, anything to answer with. His mind raced over his memories, the words and events blurring together. All he could remember was blood, and trying to hit the redhead. The Maiden was useless, as she hadn't even been a good weapon.

He froze up, blinking slowly. That's right. He and Uru had bled. They'd bled, and the wounds hadn't healed themselves as in the legends. He felt a grin tug at his lips. Summoning the courage needed to face the older alien, he flicked his tongue over his dry lips. Looking up at the expectant gaze, he knew he was safe with this.

"She isn't the Maiden."

000

"You seem oddly quiet lately."

Yamato jumped, blinking quickly before he processed the statement. He had been deep in thought, almost forgetting Lune was there. "Eh? Really?"

Lune raised an eyebrow. "You've been very quiet ever since the murders started happening. Is...everything alright?"

The brunette thought a little, scratching the back of his head anxiously. "Have I...? I guess I've just been distracted."

"Distracted? By what?" the blond questioned, confused.

Silence went by, and Yamato debated how to answer that. Children ran past the duo, laughing and screaming in excitement. Sighing, the brunette looked up at the clouds that rolled by. Truth be told, at present, all he was worried about was how to handle Uru's situation.

Sighing, the brunette let his hand drop back to his side. "I have this...friend..."

Blinking, Lune tilted his head. "Yes? Who?"

Yamato glanced away. "You uh, dunno em. But they're really gloomy lately."

"Why?"

"They wont tell me..." Yamato mumbled, eyes downcast. "He cant really uh, speak Japanese...and I dunno how...to make him explain."

"How did you make friends with someone you cant even talk to...?"

The brunette shrugged. "I...have no idea. I don't even know when we _became_ friends."

Lune raised an eyebrow, and then focused his gaze on the skyline. "It sounds complicated. Did you meet him while we were overseas?"

"You could say that..." he went quiet for a moment. "What...should I do?"

Shrugging, the blond replied, "Don't rush him. Maybe he doesn't understand how to explain the problem. Or maybe the language gap is making him just as uncomfortable."

"You think...?"

"Probably. Just make sure he knows you're trying."

Yamato nodded slowly, trying to process this, and force it to sink into his skull. "Thanks."

Lune smiled brightly, though something in his eyes glinted darkly. "No problem. Isn't that what I'm here for?"

The brunette smiled brightly, seeing nothing out of the ordinary with his friend's mood. "Y-Yeah. Right."

000

A sigh echoed in the cluttered bedroom, bouncing off of the manga, and race car model. It shimmied over the figurines and stopped at the laundry basket. Its owner lay on the bed, eying the barely understandable words before him.

Of course, Uru thought dismally. He barely understood how to read Japanese, what made him think he could even say the words? Maybe this was a lost cause... The beat up book stared back up at him, its worn pages turned to the fourth page. Vaguely Uru wondered if maybe he could still fix his translator. He did need it, for more than just language, and it'd get infected if he left the shattered metal under his skin, he was sure.

The mere thought of cutting himself open to get to it, caused him to shiver. It was beneath the hardened skin of his cheek, almost under the yellow discs that raised above the skin. Chewing his lip softly, the redhead felt his stomach drop. If he damaged those discs, he might become infertile...Not that children were the first on his list, far from it, but that didn't mean he hadn't wanted any.

Sighing, he closed the book soundly, and closed his eyes. Now was hardly the time to be contemplating the destruction of his gonads, he thought. Besides, what was more important in the long run? His survival, or reproduction? It wasn't like his hopes for such a thing mattered anymore anyway. The redhead sighed, running a thick, shaky finger over the gold discs lightly. Such a waste...

The sound of a door opening startled the alien from his thoughts, causing him to push down just a little too hard. Yamato jumped as he heard a shriek, eyes wide. The first thing that occurred to him was that Jealous was back, and he darted for the bedroom, not even kicking his shoes off or dropping his school bag.

When he arrived, the brunette looked around frantically, trying to find the attacker. Who dared to harm an injured person! He thought. However, only Uru was in the room, cupping his cheek and whining softly. Blinking slowly, Yamato tried to process this. Why would Uru be cupping his cheek?

"Are you okay?" he asked warily.

The redhead looked up, frowning softly and sniffing. He shook his head. "H-Hai..."

"What happened?" Yamato continued, hardly paying that any attention.

A flush raced across the redhead's face, and he looked away pointedly. Yamato felt his shoulders slump, and he sighed. "Right..."

Glancing back sheepishly, Uru eyed the doorway. He lifted a hand, and pointed, tilting his head a little. Yamato made a face. "What?"

"N-Na...ze?" Uru questioned, blinking.

Yamato mimicked the confused expression, before connecting the dots slowly. Realization lit his face up. "Oh...why did I come in?"

A nod.

"Er...I heard a scream. I was worried." he explained, shrugging.

The redhead made a nodding gesture, mouthing an inaudible oh. After a moment, Yamato turned and went back to the entrance kick off his shoes, sighing heavily. He was too high strung, he thought. Though, he was relieved that Uru had willingly communicated with him, if only a little. Maybe yesterday was just a bad day...he couldn't imagine WHY it would have been, outside of the wounds. Uru had been unnaturally gloomy.

Shrugging it off, Yamato wandered back to the bedroom. What business of his was it if Uru had things on his mind? He scolded himself. The redheaded alien was sitting in bed, eying the dictionary in his lap with distaste. The brunette found the pout to be quite adorable, but chose not to mention it.

"How've you been today?" he ventured, stepping closer to the bed.

Uru shrugged, and sighed dramatically. He gestured at the dictionary and scrunched up his nose.

Yamato nodded. "No luck then?"

The alien shook his head, pouting.

"Do you need some help...?"

A quiet pause, before the redhead hesitantly nodded. The brunette nodded to himself, and walked to the closet. "Okay. Lemme get changed, and I'll see if I can help..." he half wondered how it'd go, because he himself wasn't all that good at his own language. Could he honestly teach someone else anything to do with it?

Uru nodded, only partially disappointed when the brunette didn't stay in the room to change. Eye twitching, he silently questioned where that thought had come from. Must be hormones...he absently rubbed his cheek. Damaged hormones...

When the brunette came back, he had a chair in hand. Ignoring the curious gaze, he set it down and took a seat next to the bed. Picking up the beat up book, Yamato eyed it warily. He swallowed, and cracked the book open, staring at the age darkened pages blankly.

Uru watched curiously, blinking owlishly at the other. Part of him felt this would be amusing at best, and part just wondered how this would even go down. Lets hope it will be amusing, he thought.

00000000000

almost uneventful~ almost. It narrowly slid into the "PARTIALLY USEFUL" category. Hopefully its not too awful (dragged myself through it...)

translations:

naze: why

hai: yes, right, general confirmation

enjoy~ (passes out in a corner)

omake~!

?: bout time you fuckin woke up!  
jealous: w-were you watching me?  
?: w-what? no! wtf!  
jealous: w-well, you were standing there and-  
?: pervert!  
jealous: (blank stare) seriously?

yamato: so i have this friend...  
lune: oh yamato, i understand  
yamato:...y-you do?  
lune: sayama is a filthy woman. its understandable that you'd get something from her  
yamato:...(isnt sure whether to hit him or not)

yamato: what! what happen- WOAH WHAT  
uru: DONT YOU KNOW HOW TO KNOCK (covers self)  
yamato: (just stares)  
uru:...(throws things at) D8  
yamato: befgsjhguwe OKAYOKAY (leaves)

Uru: *touches cheeks* |3 Ahhhhhh  
Yamato: *stare* Um...  
Uru: *glares* [I DON'T JUDGE YOU WHEN YOU'RE HAPPY.]  
(pachi's omake~)

ridiculous omake is ridiculous~...and over~


	12. Chapter 12

TADAAAAA (shot) another chapter. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it, even though it is short and fillery. It seems like almost all of this is fillery, doesnt it? XD

warning: OOC, gore, slightly suggestive themes.  
Inspiration: pachi's idea on the first scene, and "quiet" by lights.  
Disclaimer: not mine, never will be~

ONWARD 8D (plots ending happily)

000000000000

Swallowing thickly, the redhead tried to remember the last time he had done something so reckless. He was standing in the bathroom -on a stool, because while he was almost Yamato's age, he was too short to really see properly into the mirror- with a knife in hand.

It had been a few days since the fight with Jealous, and his cheek had swollen almost two sizes. So here he was, holding a tiny knife and hoping no one returned home before he finished. He could only imagine Yamato's reaction...

Taking a deep breath, and hoping his pain killers would work, he brought the knife to his cheek. Uru was careful to not slice into the golden discs on his cheeks, and whimpered softly. He'd only done this on one other occasion, and he was starting to wish that he'd chosen an external machine instead.

The entire procedure went surprisingly well, and only took maybe fifteen minutes. Granted, he had stopped a few times when he couldn't stand the pain any longer, Uru thought he had done fairly well. He'd only screamed once, and that was when the knife came too close to the disc.

Uru was just sealing up the gaping cut when he heard the front door creak open. Almost dropping the thread in his fingers, the redhead prayed silently that whoever it was wouldn't venture into the bathroom.

Whoever was listening decided to spurn him. Probably karma...

A soft knock sounded against the door, echoing against the tiles. "Uru? That you?"

Shit... "Y-Yeah!" he called back, voice strained and cracked with the pain of moving his jaw.

"You okay?" Yamato asked, concern clouding his voice. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No! No, nothing!" Uru replied, praying the brunette would just listen and go away.

A stretch of silence passed by, the redhead listening for the other's footsteps to leave the hall. And after a moment, they did. Heaving a sigh of relief, the redhead let his shoulders slump, and began to tie the stitches again in his jaw. Staring fixatedly into the mirror, Uru tried to ignore the thick, and long rivulets of murky, pale green that ran down his chin. His own blood was a sight that tended to frighten him.

He had JUST finished tying up the wound, when the door cracked open a little. Jumping, the redhead's eyes went wide and he turned to see Yamato. The brunette had his hand over his eyes, and looked uncomfortable.

"H-Hey Uru, mnot looking. I was just worried, you've been in here for a while, and-"

"Fine!" Uru protested, waving his hands and praying the taller male wouldn't open his eyes. "Uru is fine!"

Letting his hand drop a little, Yamato peaked over the edge of his fingers. "You sur- WHAT THE HELL!"

The redhead's antenna sank against his head as he flinched, cringing. "N-Not what it looks like-"

"I-Is that blood?"

"...M-Maybe?"

Yamato reached out to steady himself against the doorjamb. "W-Why is there b-blood-!" he cried, eyes wide and horrified. "Did something happen?"

"N-No! Nothing-" Uru protested firmly, wincing.

The brunette's eyes traveled from the blood soaked sink, and the knife, to Uru's stitched up cheek. He didn't listen to a word of the broken Japanese that Uru spoke, making his own assumptions quickly. Uru had never seen a man's face go so pale, then green so quickly in his entire life.

Yamato stumbled inside, and grabbed a hold of the redhead's face with his palms. Uru shrieked, pain searing through his entire cheek, as Yamato pawed at the wound, trying to see what was wrong, what happened, and how he could fix it. Raising a bandaged hand, the redhead pawed desperately at the brunette's wrist, whimpering.

"H-How did you get this hole in your cheek? Are those s-stitches? What did you-"

Finally, the redhead shoved the older male back, and shrieked. "AWAY!"

The brunette stumbled, eyes wide and face comical in how baffled he appeared. But after a moment, he gathered himself. "B-But-!"

"OUT! NOW!"

If the screaming, bleeding alien hadn't frightened him, the objects he was throwing at him most certainly did. After the soap dish shattered against the wall next to his head, Yamato darted from the room. Heaving deep, pained breaths, the redhead shook his head, suddenly feeling miserable with himself. He groaned, and refrained from rubbing his cheeks.

000

An hour later saw the duo in Yamato's bedroom, both seated on the bed, not facing the other. Uru's face was a soft shade of red, as the nervous brunette gently rubbed the Spirit Sphere against his cheek. Yamato himself was seated rather close to the redhead's side, and tried not to think of how close they were. There was nothing really there between them, he was sure, but it felt...awkward to be so close to someone else.

And, as per usual, the redhead would not speak to him. Yamato wasn't sure if it was because of his panic attack, or if he'd honestly hurt Uru that badly. He prayed it wasn't something bad...

Uru himself was finding everything about Yamato suddenly quite amiable, though it made no sense to him, really. The warmth of his skin against his own, the touch of his big, awkward hands. Even the sound of his nervous voice, it all seemed...far too nice for Uru's liking. On some level, he had a feeling he knew exactly why this was all occurring, but he stomped it down. Hormones had no place in this relationship, if you could call it that.

But still, it made the entire exchange as uncomfortable as possible. Though, Uru wouldn't lie. The distractions were quite welcome, considering that the healing magic of the Sphere hurt. The process of new cells being forced to form and stitch the wound slowly was more painful than he could describe. It wasn't a blinding pain, but a nagging, itching pain, one he detested.

"There we go..." he heard the brunette murmur, and the bed shift as Yamato stood up.

Uru reached up, and rubbed softly at his skin, and let his eyes sink closed in bliss. His tail swayed softly, the feathers making quiet sounds as they brushed against the bedsheets. Yamato sighed mutely, taking in the sight happily. He didn't see the redhead this peaceful very often.

All seemed right with the world for the moment.

000

Across town, however, all was not right. Sayama wasn't sure what happened to her home, but she knew for sure it was horrible on many levels. Currently, she slept in her parent's room on the floor, as the couple struggled to come up with an answer to how the damage to the house had come to pass.

Sayama's father strongly believed a group of delinquents had tossed a bomb into her open bedroom window. It would make sense, but why would they have targeted her bedroom? Why not the much easier target of the living room, or any part of the first floor?

Her mother didn't disagree, at least not openly. But she did say it felt like there had been a larger, more darker motive behind all of this. She wasn't sure why, but she noticed all of the smaller damage to the walls, the scuffed railing on the stairs, and the torn rug that appeared to have been cut with claws. She noticed that the living room floor had the same deep grooves in its wooden surface, and that faded green and beige stains covered the floor near the doorjamb. And whats more, she could see that the door had been sliced at with something hot, if the singe marks said anything.

Sayama was more interested by the thick, sticky webs in her closet, the fridge, and the front door. She had no idea how they had gotten there, and felt as if a residue from them clung to herself. It was an eery, unsettling feeling that kept her from coming near any of the webs in the house.

Once, when sleep evaded her, she thought wildly that a spider had broken in, and tried to kill her. That one had sucked her into her closet, and was seconds from ripping out her throat. She fell asleep before she could continue the thought, but her dreams even followed that amazingly ridiculous idea.

In the dream, Sayama had padded through the sunny hallways of her home. She had been unaware of most things, besides that she was greatly uneasy with the feeling of being watched.

Eyes, eyes, they're all around me, she thought wildly, her pace gaining speed.

Her bedroom door was just insight, teasing her with the feeling of safety out of reach, and Sayama almost ran to keep up with the never ending hallway. When she DID grasp the cold handle in her sweaty palms, her heart had almost leaped from her throat, where it was nestled quite comfortably.

However, her bedroom offered little solace. Even in here, Sayama felt those malicious, terrifying eyes all around and over her. She couldn't escape them, she couldn't escape anything- and then she was in her closet, telling herself to scream, to beg for mercy, to RUN. Cold, smooth hands wrapped around her, and a sticky feeling kept her quivering ankles in place. A gleaming something -a knife, a claw, fangs?- was pressing against her belly, and hands were around her throat.

A wild, exceedingly proud and distinctly _evil_ smile was on her attacker's face. Sayama knew, even in her dream, that this terrible creature was going to kill her, and she could do nothing to stop it.

And then a doorbell rang.

Sayama snapped awake, a cold sweat chilling her body. Her heart hammered a million miles an hour, and her belly began to ache horribly. She whimpered quietly, eyes wide and tear filled, and suddenly she didn't want to be in this house. Deep inside, or maybe just beneath her skin, Sayama knew this was a part of a memory.

That night, she lay awake, listening to the house creak, and waited for the sound of footsteps. She heard none, and felt sickness wash over her that morning. Sayama had no idea why, but the footsteps she sometimes heard on the roof comforted her. The house always had a more serene feeling to it when they were around.

So, if she had to take a side on the debate of what happened to the house, she would probably side with her mother. Something definitely was inside, and had more on it's mind than just simple defacing of private property. And it scared her to death, because whatever had been in her room had wanted to deface HER. And nearly accomplished this as well...

Needless to say, all was not comfortable nor right with her world right now.

000

Yamato jumped a little when a bottle of shampoo was shoved under his nose. Blinking, he looked away from his homework, and over at the expression of urgency on Uru's face. He was pouting, as if to coax him into agreeing with whatever he was asking for.

Raising an eyebrow, the brunette frowned softly. "Huh? What is it?" is little Jimmy stuck in a well? He thought inwardly.

Tail sweeping the floor, and antenna forward, the redhead shook the bottle of shampoo insistently. "Shower."

"Shower?"

"Please!"

Yamato blinked oddly, and pieced the request together quickly. "You want a shower? Cant you do it yourself?"

Good point, the more cynical, and mature side of him thought. However, Uru felt the sickening urge to have the brunette's attention, and shoved that voice down easily. He sniffled, and stuck his lower lip out further. Yamato felt his eye twitch.

"You aren't five, that doesn't really work for you..." lies, it worked wonders! Yamato thought. It was more the idea that this was a seasoned killer acting cute that deterred him from falling for it.

Narrowing his eyes, the redhead let the pout fall from his face. He shook the bottle again, thick fingers refraining from squeezing too tightly. His nerves were so out of whack..."Please!" he said again.

"Do it yourself, I'm busy." Yamato replied, trying to refocus on his take home math test.

That was ten minutes ago. Now, Yamato was kneeling behind the alien, and grumbling to himself. He scrubbed at the boy's hair, listening to him hum happily and kick his legs. Every other note, the boy's thick tail would bump into him as it swayed, held high away from the water. For whatever reason, Uru despised his feathers getting even slightly damp.

Sighing, the brunette transferred his hands to the boy's back, scrubbing carefully. The wounds in his shoulders were healing nicely, but he didn't want to touch them. He vaguely remembered the mostly sealed up holes in the redhead's palms, and almost wanted to ask how they were.

Absently, he reached around to run the soapy cloth he was using over Uru's chest. He managed to drag it down the middle of his chest once, before a hand clamped around his wrist. Yamato blinked, listening to the sharp, uneven breathing, and the way the tinier shoulders shuddered.

"D-Did I hurt you?" he asked, nervous.

Flicking his tongue across his dry lips, the redhead shook his head gently. He shoved the taller male's hand away from his body, and wrapped his arms around his front. If Yamato could see his face, it would be as red as a tomato. Uru thanked the Maiden for the fact that Yamato COULDNT see his face, or the thick liquid that was sticking to his arms.

Making a face, the brunette felt almost insulted. What did he do to deserve being shoved away? Why did Uru even react that way, if he wasn't hurt? This boy made no sense! He quickly corrected himself. Uru was hardly a boy, he thought. If Yamato was being honest with himself, while the redhead looked and acted like he was seven, he was definitely not as young as Yamato tricked himself into believing.

Shrugging off the reaction, albeit grudgingly, Yamato reached for the shower head, pulling it loose with a sharp tug. Uru was quiet, tail stiff and unmoving, as the teenager proceeded to rinse his hair and whatever skin had been washed. When he was done, he set the shower head and the soapy cloth where Uru could easily reach them.

"I'll just leave em here for you." he said.

Uru's antenna sprung forward, and he blinked owlishly at the brunette. "E-Eh?"

Yamato shrugged. "I figured you'd want to be alone or something. You seem unhappy."

The redhead resisted the urge to slap himself in the face. Of all the things his dim witted friend could assume, he assumed the exact opposite of the situation. He sighed, and shook his head. "No. Don't go."

Frowning, but staying seated, Yamato nodded. "You sure?"

"Good."

"What...?"

"P-Positive!"

"..."

00000000

I leave it at thaaaat. So much filler/partially useful filler, it kills Dl though, it was kinda fun. The first scene wasnt as amusing as it could be, but eh. As for the last bit, I was thinking of omi a lil. He messes up sayings, and I figured uru would to, to some degree. Uru still doesnt know almost any japanese, thus his short, kinda strange responses. (it feels like he's a kid...)

omake~!

yamato: (opens door) w (thats it, dont make a soun-)  
uru: O_O (sees reflection in mirror)  
yamato: (now undress...undress!)  
uru: WTF ARE YOU DOING D8  
yamato: (shit! i've been seen!) u-uh, just checking up on you!

yamato: you sur- IS THAT BLOOD?  
uru: well-  
yamato: OMFG WTF HAPPENED!  
uru: SHUT UP! G-GET OUT!  
yamato: WTF-  
(all is quiet outside. birds chirp and clean themselves on the trees~ sun is shining, clouds roll by- BODY IS THROWN OUT WINDOW)  
yamato: (screams like a girl!)  
(20 minutes later)  
yamato: WTF WAS THAT FOR? (half dead)  
uru: you were yelling at uru...

uru: (rubs cheeks) =w= nngh~ (moan)  
yamato: =w= (its so adorable and innocent)

sayama: eyes, eyes, THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! (runs) ;A;  
camera men: ...A the fuck?  
jealous: (shrugs) idk A

yamato: (goes to wash chest-)  
(music blares) AND AI JIZZED IN MAH PANTS! C8  
yamato: o_o w-wha?  
uru: i-idk D8 (w-where did that come from!)

AND THATS IT FOR THAT. (went overboard on the omake...)


	13. Chapter 13

TADAAAAAA~ updated. Updated and yaaaaay~ kudos to whoever catches on to the real spoiler, which is heavily given away in this chapter. Though, its a very vague train of thought I guess...eh. Enjoy!

Warnings: ooc maybe, not much else.  
Inspiration: "cherish" by ai otsuka. "music again" by adam lambert (gawd, why didnt I just name this "music again" instead of "jumping"? (jkjk))  
disclaimer: aint mine, never will be~

enjoy!

00000000

"Who might you be?"

The general frowned at the question, absently reaching up to push the thick red fringe from his eyes. He was standing in ankle deep snow, which froze through his thick boots, and before a woman. She was the same height as himself, though far slimmer. On either side of her, was a man with a spear, and a few dogs.

Long, golden tresses flowed gently down her back and over her shoulders, cut oddly. Through fluffy, thick bangs, two knowing brown eyes watched the alien. He got the feeling that even though she wore a smile, she knew exactly who he was.

Glancing back at his frozen, awe struck troops, the redhead replied easily. "My men call me Urutimo. And, you?"

The woman played with the hem of her wide sleeves, and tilted her head a little. "I have no real name. You may call me Maiden, if you so wish."

What a strange human, the redhead thought. He shrugged, and smiled brightly. "Of course. Ah, Maiden, my men are freezing to death, and starving." he glanced over her shoulder. "I was wondering..."

"They're all welcome in our village." she said without a pause.

The men at her side narrowed their eyes at Urutimo, their hold on the staff of their spears tightening. He eyed them, particularly the tallest male who held a bow and arrow. Focusing his attention back on the woman, he smiled brightly.

"How kind of you."

The woman said nothing, her tattooed mouth curling into a thin smile. Beneath the ornate robes she wore, she massaged her hands nervously. Urutimo eyed the gesture, taking pride in how he made this woman squirm. She must be of great power, to make so many decisions all on her own, he thought. That, and she had body guards. Who must she be, to be so powerful? Sadly, little to nothing was truly known of this race yet.

Standing in the snow, they watched each other tensely, curiously. Neither made a move to watch the troops as they followed a guide who was shouting for volunteers to help shelter, feed and warm these people. The guards next to the fair woman seemed ready to run Urutimo through, fury and paranoia running through their eyes.

"Aren't you going to go with your troops?" Maiden asked.

The redhead shrugged. "I was actually wondering If I could talk to you. Since you seem to be the ruler here."

Blinking, almost genuinely shocked, the woman frowned softly. "No, no, just the local Shaman."

"A Shaman?" he asked curiously.

She nodded. "I predicted your arrival. And I am filling in for the Elder, who is ill at the moment."

Urutimo nodded. "I see~ Well, that makes much more sense."

The guards shifted anxiously in the snow. He smiled at them, and they glared back. "And who are these charming gentlemen?"

The Maiden frowned, hesitantly glancing over at her guards. "Oh. These are the village's best hunters." she gestured for them to introduce themselves.

The first man was large, built with thick limbs and a bulging belly. He was dressed simply, and had a thick beard that ran the length of his jaw. One eye was closed, scarred over. Lifting his spear a little, he crowed, "Daru!"

Urutimo nodded, letting his eyes skitter over to the next guard. His was much thinner and taller than the man next to him, and lacked a beard. Narrow, wary eyes watched him from beneath thick black hair that was tied messily behind his head.

The redhead found immediate interest in this man, and let his gaze wander a little more than necessary. A slow, curved smile formed on his face. He liked this man already. The man squirmed, uneasy under the gaze. This was not lost on the Maiden, who felt a pit begin to form in her belly.

This could be troublesome...

000

"Why is that thing so important anyway?"

Glancing up from the pile of -now scrubbed clean- metal, Uru blinked. "What does Yamato mean?"

Yamato felt a bit of pride at the mostly whole sentence. It had been exactly five and a half days since the fight with Jealous. According to Uru, his translator had been crushed in, and thus to reason he couldn't speak.

"Well...er, what does it do?" Yamato repeated. "Besides translation."

Uru tilted his head, fluffy bangs falling into his eyes. "Many things. Content. Ingredients. Many things."

"Ingredients...?"

The redhead chewed his lip gently, twisting an odd tool in a few directions. The metal in his hand slowly, but surely, warped and spun with the tool. Soon, it vaguely fit back with the other few chunks of metal, that formed a messy little box, with dials and buttons and a microphone.

"Like...some food...the things inside it...could kill Uru. Poison Uru. It is...different per race, yes?"

The brunette frowned. "So THATS why you didn't like the cookies. They're different to you, huh."

Uru nodded, a small smile gracing his features. Yamato couldn't help but feel the redhead was much more relaxed looking when he was in his true form, and not the disguise his half shattered gauntlets gave him. Those to were under repair, hung up on a hanger in Yamato's closet. All in all, his room was beginning to look like a repair shop...

The redhead's mood had drastically improved since the first few days. From that heap of depression had arisen a far more reserved alien. He smiled less, and seemed to always have something lurking deep in his mind. It was like he was a million miles away some days. Other days, he was a bit more lively, but not the same alien that Yamato had encountered earlier the previous month. Honestly? It scared Yamato a little.

And as it should, he supposed. The redhead was frightening when angered, as he was that night when Sayama had nearly died. And on some level, Yamato was terrified of that. What if Uru turned on him? How could he trust someone who he barely knew?

But then he reminded himself that Uru was anything but cruel, at least towards Yamato. He focused on handing the quiet redhead tools when asked, watching as nails, nuts and bolts were combined with super glue. Slowly, but surely, the broken machine was fixed.

Next came the gauntlets. They weren't all that beat up, as they weren't in use during the battle, but Uru insisted they were fixed.

"If Uru wears them as is, things will look odd. Like, a tail, or antenna appearing."

The image was enough to distract Yamato. How cute...nono, not cute, he told himself firmly. Sighing, he forced himself to pay more attention to the task at hand, than the attractive redhead nearby. The sound of a door creaking open sliced through his efforts, and the duo looked up expectantly.

"Yamato, I'm home." came a tired voice.

Without a word, Uru collected his tools and now fixed machines, and scurried to the closet. He turned a few times, sat, and then closed the door, narrowly avoiding catching his tail. There was a muffled curse, in the sharper dialect of clicks, and the sound of something metal falling, followed by the shrill sound of a shriek. Rolling his eyes at the familiar routine, Yamato stood and made his way to his door.

In the living room, Fushimi was lounging on their beat up old couch. Upon hearing Yamato approach her, she cracked open a long lashed eye, and glanced at him.

"How was your day?" he asked.

The woman shrugged. "Coulda been better. Cant complain." arching, she cracked her back, sighing. "Yours?"

Yamato shuffled, shrugging lightly. "Same as usual."

Fushimi nodded, grunting. She took a moment to take in her son's appearance, and frowned. Oil stained his ratty jeans, and his shirt was a mess. He himself looked like his entire day was spent doing strenuous work.

"You look like a mechanic." his mother commented.

A small eehh! Escaped the brunette, who laughed awkwardly. "D-Do I?"

"What are you not tellin me?"

"Nothing! Imean, I-I'm not hiding a thing!" Yamato insisted.

His soul fled from his body upon hearing another small crash from his bedroom. Fushimi glanced past him, and frowned.

"What was that?"

"Er-!"

The doorbell rang. Relief flooded Yamato. "T-That must be for you!"

Snorting, the blond stood, walking over to the door. She had been suspicious for a while, to be honest. Was it some friend from school? Was it a girlfriend? Snort. As if her son would date anyone but Sayama, and if he WERE dating, she would know about it. That was just the sort of boy her son was.

Whatever the case, she was fairly certain she would know soon.

000

A balmy breeze drifted across the ritzy neighborhood, gently rattling wind chimes and ruffling trees. From three stories up, it was not as balmy as it was cold and strong. The streets were clean and free of pedestrians. It was a week day after all, the grand mansion's residents and owners were away at work or school.

Regardless of the occupancy, Uru kept watch over the Sayama's house. Their daughter, Makoto, was at school with Yamato, so surely she was safe. But the house was unguarded, and after Jealous, the redhead refused to leave it as such.

He was sitting on the house adjacent to Sayama's, legs crossed, and a dictionary in his lap. Uru had rewired and fixed the device that had before, been mainly used as a translator. Now, since it was external, he had worked in a magnifying lens, so he had no real worries about missing the house. There were other nifty features, though the alien wouldn't brag about his brilliance.

So, he figured it would be more than safe if he were to study and keep watch at the same time. Bringing a triangular cut sandwich -he had tried to get Yamato to cut it in animal shapes, or in other shapes, but he refused- to his mouth, the redhead let his eyes rove over the dusty pages.

He personally found it odd, that in the week that he'd been keeping watch, not a single enemy had come forth. Sinking his sharp fangs into the bread, Uru chewed slowly. Why would no one attack, when it was obvious that the Maiden was indeed Sayama? Of course, after that battle, even Uru was having second thoughts.

She hadn't been able to heal him, merely by her presence. She had no powers, and couldn't cure herself. True, myth and fact often were misted over, but this...was more than a little unsettling. What other female was close to Yamato? There were hardly any, and none really fit the bill.

Sighing, Uru told himself to eat his sandwich and stop thinking. Besides, wasn't this why he'd taken the dictionary with him today? The words from the description of the Maiden, didn't really make much sense, in Uru's opinion. Now that he had a standard dictionary in front of him, he saw the difference in spellings.

In the original scriptures of the Maiden, it was written in the words of the humans who had spoken it. Nowadays, those people would be the Japanese, yes? Or Uru thought so. But the words...were not in the dictionary. Not at all almost.

It was so strange...the alien wasn't sure how to take this. He would run this through later, he supposed. It was mostly for curiosity, though maybe it deserved a little more looking into. For now, he had other business to attend to, and a sandwich to eat. Even if it WAS a lame, triangularly cut sandwich, and not shaped like lions, tigers, and dinosaurs...

000000000

AHA. There. Fiiinally, we are almost done with the lameo filler arcs. Next two chapters will actually have some use, and be more...idk, I guess dramatic. And ahahahahahaha, I finally figured out how to clog up a few plotholes~ colo is such an awful writer with her plothole clogging...

omake~!

urutimo: since you're the leader-  
?: oh no, i'm-...you really think i am~?  
urutimo: A;; well, yeah  
?: (squeals) someone thinks i'm important!  
urutimo:...wha?

?: and these are my guards, they're famous hunters~  
daru: daru daru D8 DARUUUU  
urutimo: (throws a pokeball at) OMG I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THAT ONE!  
?: D8;; how dare you capture my warrior!

uru: i'm so hungry...  
yamato: here, i'll make you a sandwich.  
uru: (squeals) c-can it be in shapes? like like, LIONS?  
yamato:...it can be a triangle A  
uru: BUT BUT I WANT A TIGER! OR A TREX!  
yamato: well you're not getting a tiger or a trex D8 you're getting a triangle!  
uru: ;A; CRUEL! HEARTLESS! urudoesntlikeyounomore!  
yamato: oh for...i'll make circles to  
uru: i dont want circles!  
yamato: WHAT DO YOU WANT!  
uru: TIGERS! AND LIONS!

and thats all for now =w=;;;


	14. Chapter 14

Tada~! betcha you guys thought I forgot about this huh? Nope~ nooow we actually get to the plot~ the...probably very predictable plot, in which everything falls into place hopefully.

Warning: vaguely detailed sex! but only once. Languuaaage, lotsa cursing. OOCish to.  
Inspiration: "dirty little secrets" by the all american rejects, and "the way we talk" by the maine  
disclaimer: aint mine, never will be~

ONWARD~!

00000000

The flimsy hotel bed rocked violently, the springs creaking obnoxiously. To anyone who might be on the other side of the room, it would certainly be annoying. Especially with the headboard smacking into the wall repeatedly.

High, needy pants and whines echoed and bounced off of the walls. The moans were almost as cracked as the paint on the ceiling, and it was hard to believe they were coming out of such a well respected person. It was even harder to believe that a famous general like himself was being pounded into the bed like he was.

The male above him moaned low and a bit more dignified, head bent to his chest. His hips jerked frantically, almost without any tact, into the writhing male's body. With each jerk, he elicited a sharp cry of pleasure. Hands slipping down the slippery pale legs, the dominant male groaned low.

This was no different from any other coupling, really. At least, not outwardly it wasn't. The difference lie in the cries, and the words that slipped from the smaller's eager mouth.

"S-Six days fr- ah~! F-From no~ow, t-the start o-offff~ mnnn!"

Leaning forward, nibbling along the pale rosy neck before him, the darker male grunted. "Y-Yeah? Wha-at about i-it?" he questioned, trying to keep his voice even and clear.

Tossing his head, hair fluttering over his damp face, clinging to his nose, he panted out. "We-we start t-the p-proje-ect w-wi~ith-"

"Yes? With who?" he was becoming frustrated, and would have snapped if he wasn't distracted.

"T-To E-Eaaarth~!" the smaller alien cried out, arching and whimpering.

Had his eyes been open, he might have seen the slippery smirk that formed on his partner's face. But he had been to distracted by the mind numbing pleasure, and the overwhelming desire to make the older male happy. Anything for him. Tiny reports he'd snitched or took part in, who cared?

000

"Sayama-san~!"

The girl blinked, turning half way to see who was calling her. Of course, she already knew, really. For the last two weeks, her dear friend had been escorting her to and from school, and even around the hallways. Smiling, Sayama paused in her walking.

"Hello. You're a bit late this morning." she teased.

Yamato's expression was that of horror and slight guilt. "S-Sorry...Mom wanted me to help her with something."

In reality, it had been Uru demanding breakfast before he left...but she didn't need to know that. Regardless, the smaller girl smiled blissfully, accepting the excuse easily. She brushed some hair from her eyes, and nodded.

"I see. Well, shall we go then?"

"Y-Yes! Of course!" was the immediate answer. What else could he say?

The two headed off towards their school building, chattering amongst themselves happily. In Yamato's case, it was awkward. It felt like they had grown much closer in the past week, more than they had in the seven years they'd been friends. Personally? It was a strange feeling, and it sent jolts through his body at the mere idea.

Shaking his head, Yamato told himself not to get distracted. He was meeting up with Sayama so early because he wanted to protect her like Uru did. So swooning and daydreaming had to cease, he told himself. The walk to the school was uneventful, but appreciated nonetheless.

Standing by the school steps, Lune sighed heavily. Ever since Yamato called off meeting up to walk to school, his mornings had felt empty and worthless. So much of his morning was based on him after all. It didn't seem fair that Sayama got his attention instead...

Brushing a lock of thick blond hair behind his ear, Lune sighed again. Fair or not, life rarely stopped for any one person. Though he felt it strange, personally, that all of this started after Sayama had been attacked. Not only had Yamato's personality changed, but he'd been even more withdrawn from everybody.

It...really worried Lune.

The sound of laughter echoed through the courtyard, and immediately his heart clenched fiercely. Withdrawn from everybody but Sayama, he thought bitterly. He hated her... maybe today, he might be able to actually talk to Yamato without the girl hanging on him.

000

It was becoming increasingly more obvious to Uru, that his carefree, attention begging attitude was not going to cut it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized why he was acting this way, and detested it. Not only was it out of denial, but it was in hopes of the exact thing that had landed him in this position to begin with.

Tossing the dictionary to the side carelessly, the redhead relaxed against the bed, hair fanning over the pillow. Through half lidded eyes, he watched the off white ceiling, tail swaying slowly. The feathers made soft swooshing sounds, and brushed against the floor and bed at random, preventing Uru from fully losing himself to his thoughts.

How long had it been exactly? He wondered to himself. About a month had passed since he'd arrived on earth, but the main problem had started...maybe a couple of years before. Too long to let this sort of thing go by, to let it fester, he thought. How desperate must he have been after Jealous? The image of the man who had gotten him into this, his thick black hair and wide grin formed, and his stomach sank. Desperate.

He was running out of time. The tic tok of the old alarm clock above his head echoed across the room. Closing his eyes, Uru fought to keep his panic from rising. His stomach tossed and turned like a restless sleeper. How close were they? They couldn't be far, Earth wasn't more than a few light-years away...

How long did Uru have...? A swell of nausea filled him. Not enough time.

000

"Excuse me, could I have a word with you?"

Twisting his neck around to see over her shoulder, Sayama fought against the crowds of people to slow to a stop. Behind her, being roughly jostled by the much larger students, Lune smiled up at her. Despite his mussed hair, and crooked glasses, he seemed pleasant enough.

An uneasy smile formed on the brunette's lips. "S-Sure. What about, Kodaira-kun?"

"L-Lets move somewhere else, if you don't mind."

Of course she minded. She had a class to get to, friends to catch up with. But Sayama wouldn't say that to Lune. He'd always made her nervous. "Of course."

Struggling through the crowds, the two somehow made it to an empty hallway. Without the loud chatter of students, it felt strange, their footsteps echoing. Straightening out his light blond hair, Lune chuckled. The sound sent shivers down Sayama's spine.

"Finally, an empty hall." he sighed. "Its strange, isn't it? Its so hard to find a place to be alone here."

Sayama could count on one hand all the places she'd been alone with boys before here. But it definitely wasn't hard to find those places. "Yeah..." she murmured, hoping he'd hurry up.

As if sensing her urgency, Lune turned on her, face devoid of a smile. "I wanted to talk to you about that one time out front of the school."

The brunette went stiff, eyes widening. Why would he want to talk about that? "T-Time? What time?"

The smaller teen narrowed his eyes slightly. "The boy. The one who was bleeding in front of the school."

"I...don't remember any boy." she said hesitantly, frowning.

Of course you don't, Lune thought in annoyance. "Sure you do, he had red hair. And a baggy black sweatshirt. And he was covered in blood." couldn't forget that.

Shaking her head, the girl replied. "I don't remember any boy...well..." she paused. "I remember...someone...the same someone who..." she stopped abruptly.

This piked Lune's interest. "What? The same someone?"

Shaking her head quickly, her hair and ribbons fluttering rapidly, Sayama waved a hand. "Its nothing. Are we almost through Kodaira-kun? I have class."

Lune opened his mouth to speak, but the warning bell for third period rang. Closing his mouth, lips forming a thin frown, he sighed. "I suppose we are."

Finally, she thought. Turning on her heel, the brunette wasted no time in hurrying down the hallway. Watching her go, the smaller teenager sighed heavily. He to hurried after her, but his mind lingered on what she had brought up. Someone she remembered...? Someone like who? Like that boy? What did she mean? Something was not right. He didn't know what exactly, but he had a feeling it was definitely not good.

000

Yamato was on cloud nine when he returned home. He always was it seemed. Or lately he was. Kicking off his worn black dress shoes, the brunette leaned against the door frame and sighed dreamily. Today had been the best day yet. Sayama had nearly asked him out. On a date. A DATE. With HIM. And her. They, them, together!

Of course, she had waved it off quickly, saying she had forgotten about a previous arrangement. Yamato secretly hoped it wasn't with a much more likely candidate for a date. He couldn't take the idea of losing her after so long...

The sound of a frustrated growl caught his ears, and for a moment, the teen worried someone had attacked. He was always so worried about that lately it seemed. Never mind that no one had actually laid a hand on them since Jealous, it could still happen again. Cautiously, he crept towards the kitchen, peering around the wall. Yamato was relieved to see it was only Uru.

The redhead held his face in his hands, slumped over the counter. His tail swept low to the ground, his antenna laid flat against his messy crimson hair. His rosy chin was stiff, and he looked downright miserable from Yamato's standpoint.

"Uru...?" he called quietly.

Flinching at the sound of his name, the redhead jerked his hands away from his face. He glanced at his friend, emerald eyes bubbling with something akin to panic and depression. His jade lips twitched, as if attempting to curl into a smile, but they just never made it.

"Hello..."

Stepping into the room cautiously, the brunette frowned. "Whats wrong? You look...really bad."

A heavy sigh broke free from Uru. It was short, more like a sucker punch had brought it on. "Uru is...very upset." he admitted.

This came as a shock to Yamato. He was admitting it? "Why? What happened?"

Silence followed the question, thick and tense. If Yamato knew what pea soup even looked like, he would figure this tension was right up there in thickness. He didn't pressure the redhead, knowing when to let something lie. Or, he tried to know when. Heaving another short sigh, combing his long crayola red bangs back with a shaky hand, the redhead closed his eyes.

"I'm scared." he murmured, nearly a whisper.

"Why...?" he'd never heard the redhead even whimper in fear before. It had to be bad.

Opening his eyes, murky and disturbed, the alien replied, "They're almost here. And I haven't finished anything, I haven't even secured the Maiden."

"But you found her, right?" Yamato offered, voice hopeful. "If you found her, all you need is to wait for help. Right?"

"Help wont be coming." it was a flat statement.

This took Yamato aback. "Not coming? Why? Cant you call for help?"

More silence. This time, the redhead looked downright pale, his lips quivering. "Uru...does not want to call for help."

"Why?" why would he sit through this silently?

"Because...Uru has no one who can help him."

"_Why_?"

Bristling, the redhead told himself not to get angry. Yamato didn't know, he didn't understand. How could he? "I...did something very bad." he murmured quietly.

The brunette stared at the alien before him blankly. "Something bad...?"

Shuffling, Uru chewed his lower lip. Yamato should be allowed to know about why he might -probably- end up dead... "Uru is a traitor." he whispered, flinching even as he spoke.

Dead silence. There was a full minute in which Yamato's brain shut down, then rebooted. "What?"

He hung his head, bangs hiding his eyes. "Uru isn't even supposed to be here. He...he broke out of jail, and stole a ship. The Spirit Sphere, the tools, none of it is mine. I'm only here to clear my name." he glanced up, smiling mirthlessly. "Uru is probably going to die if he asks for help."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "_WHAT_?"

Uru flinched at the booming voice, telling himself that he'd heard far more frightening noises in his life. It didn't keep his legs from shaking ever so slightly beneath the frayed jeans he'd borrowed. "Yama-"

"Why would you hide that? Are you insane?" Yamato cried, face pale, eyes wide in horror. "This is what you meant before? I'm aiding and abetting you!" a pause, terror. "Oh god, I'm fucked to..." he whispered.

The redhead raised his hands, trying to think up another lie to placate the already frantic human. "W-Wait, I'm sure if you-"

Yamato didn't give him a chance to speak. "How _dare_ you? How could you just fuck me over and never tell me?"

"U-Uru didn't mean to..." he murmured, trying not to shake. He'd never seen Yamato so upset before.

"Didn't mean to?" his voice raised, bushy eyebrows drawn forth into a look of disbelief. "How the hell do you deliberately lie to someone, risk their _life,_ and then say you didn't mean it?"

The redhead went silent, looking anywhere but at Yamato. A famous general, a war hero from several wars he may be, but... The thought of Yamato being upset with him made his already upset stomach sag. He must hate me, he thought.

Panic was surging through Yamato as he realized just how much trouble he was in. How much trouble Uru was in. His thick legs quivered beneath his school uniform, and he felt as if his bones were made of jello. He could die. Wait, the Sphere- it was _stolen, _he told himself. Why would they honor him, if they thought he was a lowly criminal?

Criminal. The word made a tremor pass through him. Yamato had always stuck so closely to the law, how had he strayed so far this time? Uru was dragging him down the wrong side of the street...

It occurred to him that without any help, they might both die. How do you fight an army single-handedly? A pit of unease went through the already uneasy boy.

"Uru..." he called, eyes wide and lost in thought. "How...do you plan to win this war and clear your name if you have no help? I-Its an _army_."

The redhead lifted his chin a bit, glancing through his messy red bangs. He looked lost, defeated for a brief moment. "We wont be alone for long." he murmured.

"What...?"

"Uru's own army is coming to collect myself and the Maiden. The two armies will collide, and we will be stuck between the fighting. But we wont be alone."

"Do you even HEAR yourself talk?" Yamato cried, eyes wider and voice shrill. "Stuck between armies? Are you kidding? There's no way I want that! We'll die!"

"We wont die!" Uru snapped. "Or you wont at least! You're protected!"

"By _what_?" Yamato pointed towards his bedroom, where a faint light played against the wall. "That? A stolen holy object? They wont honor that! I'm fucking helping you flip the off, there's no way they'll spare me!"

"Then why don't you just leave me?" Uru cried, fury aglow in his eyes. "Better yet, why don't I go? I'm obviously too much trouble!"

"Then go if you're going! I don't need this! All I ever wanted was to marry Sayama-san, and be NORMAL!"

A pang of hurt and jealousy flooded the redhead. He'd never felt this kind of hurt before. "Whatever. You can have your stupid dreams."

Without waiting for a response, Uru stormed into Yamato's bedroom. His eyes were beginning to well up, the tears making it hard to see what he was doing. He was aware that he'd knocked over an empty ramen cup as he snatched his space cube from the desk. He made quick work of his packing, his mind racing with hurt, anger, and terror. What had he done to deserve this...?

Yamato watched as the redhead left the bedroom, feet tapping the wooden floor furiously. He was in his human guise, a look that the human had never quite gotten used to. The baggy jeans hung limp on his tiny hips, the hoodie seemed to swallow him. Uru was so much shorter and more child-like in this disguise, and it only made his furious expression stand out that much more.

"Where are you going?" he asked, throat constricting. For a moment, the terror that filled him was that Uru wasn't healed, that he might die.

"I don't know. Anywhere is fine."

The redhead's hand was reaching for the door when Yamato's voice stopped him. "Why...?"

Flinching, hand shaking ever so slightly on the door handle, the alien stood still. He lowered his head. "People never have gotten me very far. Uru was sick of wasting time on them. He never needed you." he muttered.

And with that, he was gone. The sound of the door closing echoed through the room, from wall to wall, until it hit Yamato. The brunette stood rooted to his spot, just watching the door. Part of him expected the redheaded alien to rush back in and hug him, and demand a shower.

The door never opened though. And it wouldn't open at all the rest of the night.

000000000000

….(tumble weed blows by) yeah. Depressing huh? I thought so to~

omake~!

(bedcreaks loudly)  
uru: (loud girly moan-screams)  
?: thats right, take it! take it ru!  
uru:...whose ru?  
?:...no one hun, lay back  
uru: i think you better explain or i might just rip "it" off  
?: Dl

(bedcreaks loudly)  
uru: (loud girly scream-moa-)  
random guest: STFU D8 THERE ARE PEOPLE TRYING TO SLEEP!  
uru: OMFGI'MSORRY ;A;

sayama: you're a bit late~  
yamato: yeah, see, lune wouldnt stop sending me dirty texts and i couldnt figure out how to block him  
sayama:...what?  
yamato: ;; e-eh?

sayama: you're a bit late~  
yamato: s-sorry, the small child who lives in my closet wanted me to give him candy before i left...  
sayama:...WHAT?  
yamato: s-shit, i said that aloud?

lune: excuse me, could i have a word with you?  
sayama: whats with your hair...?  
lune: uuummm...(flashbacks to getting nailed in the closet by yamato) just a windy morning~  
sayama: right...

lune: excuse me, could i have a word with you?  
sayama: sure-  
lune: alone  
sayama:...i dunno if i like where this is going ;;  
lune: i'm gay  
sayama: really? well, i had my doubts, but...  
kiyose: (recording this confession) AHA! i knew it C8


	15. Chapter 15

I seem to be taking more and more time for each chapter, huh? Well…hopefully the next chapter will go by quicker, its easier imo.

Warning: OOC, filler, angst, hinted shounen ai  
Inspiration: "run around" by blues travelers and "a cure" by emilie autumn. "What do ya want from me" by adam lambert and "music again" by adam lambert.  
Disclaimer: not mine, never will be~

Hope you enjoy~!

00000000000

Chilled winds ghosted quickly over the building, the cement beneath his worn black pants numbing the redhead's bottom. However, Ultimo made no move to warm himself or leave his post. Arms prickling beneath his heavy hoodie, he kept perfectly still as he watch Sayama's house. From behind the metal of a machine that was secured over his face, stats and details quickly flitted.

The image of a girl roaming inside of the halls glinted in the pale blue glass of the mechanism, moving gracefully and slowly. She went from the living room to her bedroom languidly, and Ultimo would bet money she was wearing a dress. He couldn't tell though. He didn't care that much either.

His mind was a blank slate with most of the writing scraped off. Whatever was beneath the messy scratch marks was forcefully repressed. His stomach gurgled desperately, and he ignored it. When they were younger, Jealous would tease Ultimo about how cold he could be and accuse him of being made of steel or coral.

Ultimo would have to agree on the coral. Coral was brittle and made up of the failures of life such as death and steel was strong and never rusted. Uru was not that strong.

Heaving a sigh, he decided this most certainly was not making the problem any less noticeable. He turned his mind down, and focused on his house stalking. Sayama was now lying in bed, and static of her racing mind flitted across Ultimo's eyes.

A nagging jealousy shot through the redhead for a brief moment when he heard a familiar name linger in the static of her mind.

000

The fridge was empty. Yamato stared for a few seconds, eyes focused on the place where a bowl of leftovers once rested. It was no longer there. Actually, nothing was. Heaving a sigh, Yamato couldn't find it in him to be angry at the lack of food, or rather the person who had stolen it.

An entire day had rolled by and not once did Yamato even see or hear from the alien who once resided in this apartment. The lack of other sentient life made his soul feel hollow and lifeless. It had only been a day, but already the teenager could feel the difference in his surroundings. It felt chilly in the already drafty apartment.

Sighing, the brunette closed the fridge door with a last hungry glance at the interior. Even if he was hungry, Yamato felt sick at the mere idea of eating. Yesterday's events went round and round in his head, his own words sounding less justified and crueler as they cycled.

Hanging his head and standing up straight, Yamato lifted a hand and pressed it to his forehead. The skin felt oily and chilly against his warm palm. Turning, he left the kitchen and made his way to the couch. Yamato fell heavily onto it, closing his eyes and thinking.

He hadn't been wrong for being angry. He had not been wrong for panicking and demanding answers, for being upset at all. Anyone in their right mind would be angry that they were being used. It was being used, right? Uru seemed like such a sweet boy, it seemed hard to comprehend. Then again, if Uru was such a sweet boy, then why was he about to be executed for treason? Why would he have stolen all those things?

Regardless of all the reasons why he wasn't wrong, Yamato's belly just sunk more and more with every excuse. He just couldn't shake the guilt. The alien was somewhere out there, without food or shelter, just waiting to be caught. A spike of nervous fear drove its way up Yamato's spine. He'd put him out there.

Groaning, he pressed the heel of his palm harder against his forehead, wishing more than anything right now that Uru would come back and they could forgive each other. He hated quarrels. He hated it the most when he was the one who ended up the bad guy. The front door opened with a slow creak, followed by the slow tapping of high heels. Yamato repressed a groan.

Fushimi sighed heavily and closed the front door, leaning against it as she kicked off her high heels. Absently, she brushed the fine blond hair from he face and glanced around the room. The sight of her son dressed casually and flung out on the couch brought a tiny smile to her face. The smile vanished when she noticed the creases of unhappiness on his face.

She stepped a bit closer. "Yamato...?"

The teenager jumped slightly, but lifted his hand from his face. He tried to crack a smile, but it failed somewhere along the lines. "Hey, mom. How was your day?"

"Decent." Fushimi replied hesitantly. "Yours? You look miserable."

A pit formed in his belly. What should he say? "U-Uh, nah, not really. My day was fine."

"You're not a good liar Yamato."

A wince. It figured. His mother always knew better than to trust his poorly thought out excuses. Yamato sighed heavily, letting his arm drop to the floor. Fushimi shifted her weight and waited patiently. She was tired and worn out from a grueling day at the worst job in the world (in her opinion) but she'd put up with that. Her son was all she had left after all and he'd been acting weird all month.

"I really messed up mom..." he murmured.

Panic surged briefly through the blond woman. "What happened?"

Closing his eyes, the brunette sighed heavily. "I...really hurt a friend. Really bad."

Relief took the place of panic and for a moment, Fushimi debated smacking her son for making her worry. Friends. Of course. "What happened?" she repeated.

Squeezing his eyes shut, the teen replied. "I have a friend...who is sort of running from the cops...and I panicked and told him I didn't want to talk to him anymore." that was a better excuse than before, he decided.

Fushimi felt the urge to throttle Yamato for even getting involved with criminals to begin with. "You're better off without a criminal in your life." she muttered.

"But...I...he's really..." he took a moment to fully think out what he was saying. He's really important to me, Yamato thought, feeling his chest restrict. He had no idea why. "He's a very important friend." he murmured.

Raising an eyebrow, Fushimi took this in carefully. Was it Lune? No, that boy was almost too perfect. Yamato had a few friends that were male, but Fushimi wouldn't call them friends so much as acquaintances. It must be someone new, someone she didn't know about. Sighing, the woman untied her pony tail and shook it out, letting her hair fall to her shoulders neatly.

"If he's that important, he won't stay away for long." she said, chest constricting slightly at memories.

Yamato blinked, the frown on his face making him look so lost and for a brief moment, Fushimi thought he must have been so lonely while this boy was gone.

"R-Really...? Do...do you think he'll come back soon...?"

"More than likely." she began to walk sluggishly down the hall to her own bedroom. "But you only have one chance to make it better Yamato. There is no such thing as making up in one go."

Yamato nodded slowly, listening to the patting of footsteps as they tapered off. He turned over what his mother had said, debating on whether it was true or not, contemplating how to make it up to Uru. After a moment, he sighed and sat up, messing up his hair with a large hand.

000

_I just want a remedy_. He remembers thinking just that. _I just want a way to fix my proble__ms, to drown this horrible loneliness_. _Just something, anything, to make the hole in my chest go numb._

Ultimo had no idea how long that single desire echoed in his mind, but he figured it had probably always been there. It had simply intensified upon joining the military. He remembers feeling utterly empty and numb when he first climb aboard the shuttle, watching Jealous's face as he did so.

_He looks like he's going to cry..._he had thought. The way his lower lip quivered, the way that his eyes glittered, the way his thick shoulders sank and shuddered all spelled the same thing. Ultimo's heart had sank at how his friend was trying to look strong for him, but failing. No...friend hadn't been the word he'd used. Not mentally.

The air craft had shuddered beneath the calloused pads of his toes, jostling him. For a brief second, Jealous's face had been blocked by the surge of dust that the boosters had kicked up upon activation. But the view had returned quickly. The young social outcast looked so miserable and frail, hair fluttering about in the gusts of wind, eyes lost and sad, mouth hanging open slightly.

As the air craft had lifted off, the young arachnid alien began to vanish from sight. As he lost sight of him, Ultimo remembers thinking; _I'm leaving__ behind my only family. I'm leaving behind the only one I love._

The years after that had been harsh, both physically and mentally. Killing and watching entire squadrons of friends die before his very eyes had killed something inside of himself. Whatever that something was, Ultimo wasn't the same anymore once it had died.

It was after the third war he was in that Ultimo remembers first desiring a remedy. He had been huddled in his barracks, staring at the empty bunks of the friends who he had watched being slaughtered the day before. Of course, being not only the only survivor but the one who'd whipped out the enemy (blind rage), he'd been awarded and was being promoted. It didn't numb the feeling at all though, it didn't cover up the sorrow or the sick depression that roiled beneath the thick material of his uniform.

_I want a remedy. I want a friend; I want to be rid of this loneliness. I want something to make the hurt go away. I want Jealous, I want a friend. I want to go home._

His remedy and it didn't arrive for many years, not until last year to be exact. It had turned out to do more harm than it had done any good. Ultimo figured in his desperation for someone to ease his pain, he hadn't looked very closely at the person whom he had chosen.

Was he making a mistake in running away from Yamato? More than likely he was. He had lost everything the moment his past was partially revealed. What good was it doing him to return to Yamato and ruin their fragile existence together even more so?

_I don't want to lose you. I don't want to be alone anymore._

000

It was just for food, he told himself. He'd done this numerous times in the last few days. There was nothing to worry about.

Silently, the redhead pushed the window up and slid onto the sill. The rustle of his worn black jeans seemed to echo in the silence of the bedroom, and for a brief moment, Ultimo worried that the sole occupant might awaken. Part of the alien was thrilled by the idea, another was terrified.

To his dismay and relief, Yamato stayed fast asleep. Sighed inaudibly, the redhead let his head fall a little, bangs hiding his glowing eyes. He paused momentarily in his climbing to watch the familiar human. Eyes closed gently, oddly long lashes brushing against his high cheekbones, mouth drawn into a thin line, Yamato looked almost peaceful. Ultimo kept his eyes on his face as he slid from the window sill partly in paranoia, partly because the brunette slept in his underwear. The sheets had been mostly kicked off, exposing much of the brunette's body to anyone who might be nearby.

Blushing lightly, the redhead quietly made his way to the bedroom door. The distance from the window to the door seemed to be miles of uncharted desert, though it raced by quickly. It made no sense, but Ultimo figured very little did right this second.

Everything was the same as the day he'd left. Clothes were strewn about and the closet was still open for all to see. The light of the Soul Sphere from Yamato's shelf lighted the way through the mess, and the redhead found himself smiling. Even now, it still felt safe and comforting to be here.

It struck him how wrong it was to be here. How peaceful and content Yamato seemed, sprawled out as he was, how perfect the human's life seemed to be. Staring at the doorknob, the redhead felt his gaze grow distant. _I __shouldn't__ be here. I'm not fit to be here. This is all wrong. _He found himself backtracking, feet clumsily backtracking as he unconsciously fled the scene.

Something caught along the claws of his large feet and the redhead held his breath as he felt himself trip. Don't scream, don't alert him. He managed to find his footing before he tumbled backwards, heartbeat erratic as he realized the extent of what he was doing.

_I'm robbing a poverty ridden human of food, for myself, when I'__m not even on friendly terms with him __anymore__._ He thought, feeling chilled. It wasn't from the window, he noted. _How far have you sunk, Ultimo...?_

With deft movements, he turned and fled the room, not looking back. If he did, the alien knew for sure he wouldnt have been able to leave. The window was carefully slid shut, the dull thud of wood on wood echoing in the silence of the room.

000

"Yamato-kun...?" a soft hand, warm and small, shook him gently.

Snapping from his daze, the brunette glanced up. He felt his heart race upon seeing his precious Sayama, who watched him from behind her messy (stylish! Yamato argued) auburn bangs. She chewed her glossed lower lip and if it weren't for the setting and current emotions running rampant inside of his mind, Yamato might have groaned.

"S-Sayama-san...hello, whats up?" he asked, a little too eagerly.

The girl frowned at first, but brightened a little at the familiar tone. "I was just a bit worried. You've been really out of it lately."

Expression blank, the male frowned a bit deeper. "Have I been?"

"You have...Even Akitsu is concerned-"

"I AM NOT!" a shrill cry echoed from across the room.

Yamato looked over, startled to see a furious Akitsu, or maybe she was just embarrassed. Next to her, Kiyose giggled softly and whispered something to Lune. The blond made a face, but snickered lightly. The smile barely reached his eyes and he appeared to be as tired and drained as Yamato felt.

He chuckled awkwardly and turned back to his crush, opening his mouth to speak. "I'm fine, re-"

And then a fist connected with his nether regions.

If this were a comic or a movie, Yamato supposed there would be a picture of a skeleton from the hips down, an X-ray maybe. In seconds, the sturdy frame would be cracked in half and the body doubled over. Bones would be splintered, certain parts would simply smush and fly off. Yamato was thankful that this was not a comic or a movie, because the pain was bad enough without special effects.

Shrieking, he clutched at his abused crotch, his face meeting the desk in a violent, less than intimate affair. He whimpered and as he did, he heard Sayama cry out.

"Oume! Why did you _do_ that!" she sounded very upset.

Then the confused, high pitched voice of a familiar girl. "_What_? He was doing that stupid heroic thing again! You know, like he did when our school got bombed last year?" no, he took that back. She was definitely some form of demon squirrel.

Akitsu snorted. "Oume, he was standing there. There was nothing heroic about him."

"But there was! He was all posed funny, he was serious and and!" the girl argued, shaking his fists up and down.

A hand rubbed Yamato's back slowly and comfortingly. He sighed and tried to relax. It was a bit difficult when something with about four thousand nerves was reverberating with agony. He did try though.

"Don't worry Yamato-kun, she didn't mean to be cruel." Lune said, a tiny, awkward smile on his face. "Would you like an ice-bag or something?"

If he could move his hands from his junk, Yamato might have waved one dismissively. Instead he forced out a ragged, but pleasant, "No thanks."

Just then the teacher walked in, her heels tapping the floor as she gracefully took center stage. She set down her folders and began to go through one. "Hello class~ I trust you had a good weeke- Agari-kun are you okay?"

He groaned in embarrassment. After much fuss, he was forced into the nurses office, a bag of ice offered to him despite his insistence that he was perfectly fine. The nurse had pointed out his distinct limp and Yamato was inclined to point out she would probably walk the same way if someone punched HER in the crotch.

Lune kept him company however, so his snappy comeback was cut off. While Yamato laid on a bed, humiliated as he clung to a bag of ice, the blond sat on a plastic chair next to him. He was polite and serious as he asked if his friend was alright, but Yamato could almost sense the amusement.

"Why does she have to always DO that..." he found himself groaning.

Tilting his head to the side, the blond raised an eyebrow. "Oume-chan has always done that."

"Just because you always do it, doesn't mean it's okay..."

Rolling his eyes, Lune fought a smile. "Maybe in her warped world, its an attempt to comfort you."

Or maybe she's a psycho bat demon squirrel from another planet, Yamato added. "Maybe...doubt it."

There was a moment of silence before Lune spoke again. His words were slow, as if he was still choosing his words as he spoke. "Sometimes...friends hurt each other while trying to reconcile something. It's only natural, right?"

"Maybe on Mars they do..."

"I'm sure its universal." the blond stated, adjusting his glasses as he watched the brunette.

Yamato glanced at the blond, contemplating his words, turning them in his head. His whole world seemed to revolve around Uru and how he had left. It felt like he saw him or heard about him in everything that was done or said. Once again, the teenager found himself thinking back to that night. It had been so harsh, when in reality they had only wanted the best for themselves. Oddly enough, Yamato found himself wondering if Uru had been more concerned about Yamato than he had come across as.

"_Uru never needed you."_

Or maybe the ice was starting to make him delusional.

000

Glancing at his watch, a cheap wrist watch he'd gotten at a convenience store, Yamato resisted the urge to sigh. The sun was just starting to sink below the horizon, casting murky gold light over the school building. Sayama had told him she would be down in five minutes when they had parted at the stairwell.

Class activities had gotten out late, throwing off both of their schedules. Due to this, Yamato and Sayama had decided to walk home together. On Yamato's part, it was due to paranoia about his friend's safety. For Sayama, it was not only paranoia, but also the eagerness to interact with him for a while longer.

It was just a little past five minutes when the sound of light footsteps met the tall male's ears. Turning rapidly, Yamato felt his heart race, real or imagined lights from heaven seeming to frame the girl of his dreams. Recently, Uru had been taking her place in his dreams, but he'd pretend that wasn't true for the sake of poetic words. Sayama smiled, titling her head and pausing in front of him.

"I'm sorry for the delay. Are you ready?" to emphasize this, she adjusted the strap of her school bag on her shoulder.

Yamato nodded quickly, smiling just a bit too brightly. "Y-Yeah! Always!"

A soft giggle escaped the girl as she started to walk ahead of her friend. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

What indeed. Hurrying after her stiffly, the teenager felt as if his worries vanished for the moment. Sayama had a way of doing that to him.

The walk itself wasn't too bad, their chatter interspersed as they traveled. At some point, Yamato seemed to forget his worries, allowing himself to be wrapped up in her laughter. For the moment at least, he felt at peace. They were just outside of her yard now, laughing as they spoke.

"A demon squirrel?" the girl asked, trying not to laugh too hard.

Yamato nodded. "What else could she be?"

Sayama giggled and tilted her head in thought. "I don't know, a ninja squirrel?"

"That's too stealthy for her." he teased.

Watching Sayama laugh, because of _him_, made his spirits soar with glee. Smiling broadly, if not a tad awkwardly, the teenager continued his jokes. If she had been laughing before, the girl was about to choke now. It wasnt that the boy's jokes were necessarily funny, so much as Sayama found Yamato himself to be funny and cute. It was just the way he stood, the gestures he made, the way he said things. She hadn't felt this good in a while.

"So then, there's this fox and a dog, and-"

Sayama's laughter began to ebb, sobering slowly due to a tune the she could hear just above Yamato's voice. At first, she had thought it was simply waves, or maybe the wind, but over time the sounds began to form a tune. A mournful tune, she noted, eyes looking around curiously.

At first Yamato had feared that he had said the wrong thing, backtracking repeatedly, before he realized the girl's attention was elsewhere. Frowning softly, he glanced around for the source of the girl's distraction. It took a moment to actually notice the tune in the air, with how if wafted slowly like a scent or a breeze.

Slow, trembling words echoed in another language, followed by the catchy melody. As catchy as it was, it was also terribly sad to hear. As if the singer was from a torn home, or maybe a crisis or personal loss had struck them deeply. It took Yamato a moment, but he recognized the sounds.

_Uru_, he thought, suddenly breathless. It wasn't Uru's voice, but it was the same language he spoke in. Did he have a radio? Yamato thought absently, suddenly too blank to think of anything else.

"What a pretty sound..." Sayama hummed, letting her head lean to one side.

Yamato took note of the way her hair curled and pooled around her shoulder, of how lovely she looked. But it didnt truly connect with his brain. He was still stuck on the repeating phrase he could hear.

"_Awua v'rwa gekiwa rrawt vrwe gekita"_

The demand in the tone was unmistakable, firm and almost pleading for something. As if there was an answer that the singer needed to know and no one could seem to give it to them. It tugged hard at Yamato's heart and he wasn't quite sure why.

"Y'know," Sayama began, tone bright and of high contrast to the song. "That tune sounds kind of familiar."

Yamato was looking over his shoulder, towards the music. "Really?"

"Mhm...Kind of like that pop star's song, you know, the one from a few years back?"

He hated pop, why would he know that? "No, not really..."

The girl frowned, but quickly moved on. "If you have a moment, you could come in and I could show you."

Inwardly, he cringed at the thought of music. Outwardly, he cheered because it had been years (outside of birthdays) since Yamato had been invited over to her house. Smiling, he nodded. "Sure."

Smiling a little, Sayama turned and gestured for him to follow her. Excitement built in Yamato's lower belly, but it was mostly drowned out with the strange feeling he felt from the music. Being inside of Sayama's house was a trip to the past, and not a pleasant one mind you.

Most of the mess in the living room was gone now, but the gashes in the floor and the door were still there. The dents and holes in the wall along the staircase were still there as well. It had only been about a week or two; Yamato supposed they were still busy repairing things.

Walking around the massive dent in the floor left a pit in his chest regardless. He could even see some stained in green. Hastily following his crush through the house and up to the guest bedroom, Yamato tried to will away the unpleasant memories.

Stopping in the doorway, the brunette took a moment to glance around the bedroom. Sayama's home really hadn't changed very much. Still dainty yet masculine, still new aged but formal, the guest room was exactly the same as it had been when he had last spent the night here when Yamato was twelve. The brunette male took comfort in that, stepping further into the room.

It was then that he took notice of all the items and clothes strewn about the room. Blinking quickly, he registered that they were hair brushes and school clothing, among other items. Yamato quickly glanced away when he noticed some more private clothing, face flushed.

"Ah, please ignore the mess." the girl hummed, casually sitting down on the bed. She smoothed out her skirt with one hand and opened up a laptop with another. "My own room is trashed really badly, so I'm forced to sleep in here for now..."

Yamato felt a chill run down his spine, but swallowed it and smiled. "A-Ah. Its fine. What did you want to show me again?"

Sayama smiled and patted the bed beside her. "Sit sit, you look so tense. Its a song by a musician from the States, he was very popular a few years ago."

The teen hesitantly took a seat, shifting around a bit on the edge of the bed. "Was he? What was his name?"

"Adam...something or other." the girl frowned. "I don't remember his last name...but oh well." she gestured with a hand to come closer. "Here is the song." she informed happily.

Yamato scooted closer as the video loaded on the website she had opened. The camera was shaky, fuzzy almost, as it came to rest on a man in bed, peeking through a door. Then it flitted to a dimly lighted study, the same man sitting before a plain, neat desk and a computer screen. Chords of a guitar (or he thought it was. It could just as easily be a bass) echoed, the only sound for a few brief seconds. Yamato couldn't help but notice how defeated the man looked, shoulders slumped as he sat in another scene.

This time, only his back was seen, but the same melancholy slump hung around the man. Just as suddenly as the guitar chords had started, a voice and a clear picture of the singer's face came into view. Yamato fought the urge to wrinkle his nose at how feminine the man looked. Clearly this was part of that fashion style the States seemed to be overrun by.

"_Hey, slow it down...what do ya want from me?_" the man sang, a demand in his voice that sent shivers through the two teenagers. "_Yeah, I'm afraid...what do ya want from me?_"

"That's the same tune as that song from..." Yamato murmured to himself.

Sayama nodded, eyes glazing slightly at the song. "Maybe it was a cover for this song?"

"Maybe..."

The song continued, the man looking less defeated and more frustrated. Or maybe it wasn't frustration? Yamato wasn't sure, he'd never been good with words. He felt a twinge in his chest, recalling that same feeling to a lesser extent.

"_There might have been a time when I would give myself away. Oh, once upon a time, I __didn't__ give a damn! But now...here we are. So w__hat do ya want from me?"_

He wasn't sure how to describe the feeling in his chest at that particular moment. It was a mix between nausea and some profound realization that didn't quite click. For some strange reason, the image of another person in Uru's life appeared in his mind's eye and it wouldn't go away. The image was almost painful, from the miserable vibe he felt to the way his own jealousy seemed to rise up from his belly.

Wait wait, jealousy? Why would he be jealous? Yamato shook his head, closing his eyes and running a hand through his messy bangs. This was ridiculous. He was obviously over thinking things at this point. The remainder of the song passed in silence, though the waves of nausea never left his belly.

000

Its okay, he told himself. Its just a food run. As if to back himself up, his belly groaned.

Ultimo winced, looking through the dirty window and into the dark bedroom. His eyes had a faint red glow to them, his night vision showing the room to him in all of its glory. A snort escaped the redhead as he gripped the ridges of the window. Glory wasn't the right word. A total and utter mess, now that was far more fitting.

Another growl shook his abdomen and the alien whined softly. His pride, his shame, they had refused the idea of stealing food from his former partner in crime (quite literally) but now survival demanded that he do so now. He had managed only a day before he realized that homes here had alarms and vicious dogs (Chihuahuas) that resided within them. He tail twitched lightly, mournfully swaying slowly. A few feathers were missing from the brilliantly colored tail.

Flexing his fingers lightly, the redhead pushed open the window quietly, quickly climbing up and perching himself on the window sill. So far, it was going smooth. Swinging his legs around slowly, the redhead slowly lowered himself to the ground, keeping a careful eye on Yamato. He wasn't stirring a bit. Perfect. With long, careful steps, Ultimo began to trek his way through the familiar wasteland that was Yamato's bedroom. His pulse began to pick up, racing at the thought that he might soon be out of this room.

"Was wondering when you'd show up..."

Ultimo froze in place, glowing eyes staring ahead blankly. He didn't dare move as the sound of rustling fabric made its way to his ears. He didn't think he _could _move at the moment. But slowly, and surely, he turned his head to rest his emerald gaze on a familiar face.

Yamato was sitting up in bed, hair a mess and eyes wide open despite the hour of the night. He stared right back at Ultimo, who felt his heart stop.

Running a hand through his messy hair, the brunette sighed heavily. "Do you always come at 2 AM to rob a friend?" he asked.

Ultimo felt a sting of anger briefly, but he realized quickly it had been a joke. Chewing his jade lip, the alien let himself relax slightly. "I am sorry..."

Dropping his hand, the brunette looked at the boy in front of him and frowned. He squinted slightly, trying to see more than just his eyes and outline. "Don't be..."

Chewing his lower lip, the redhead felt a tug at his chest and he glanced away. He felt like the rug had been yanked out from underneath him. But regardless, the urge to remedy an already broken relationship was almost as strong as his hunger pains.

"I mean...for before. I...Uru over reacted." he murmured.

A silence followed the apology, one that the redhead wasn't sure how to take. He watched the human shift out of the corner of his eye, an odd look flitting through the dark eyes. It was brief, speaking levels of understanding and thought and knowledge that scared the redhead for a moment.

"I've been thinking...and I don't think...that its anyone's fault." came the quiet response.

Blinking, Ultimo frowned and tilted his head to the side. "But...I really did mess up. Uru kept something like that secret, when it was so important."

"Well, yeah...you did." Yamato mumbled, scratching the back of his head, looking away. It felt so awkward..."But...I think there's a reason. More than I could understand at the time, and maybe even now..."

There was a pause, the alien turning the words over in his head. His mind tossed and turned the words, regarding each one carefully; to make sure no secret barbs were hidden within them. Glancing up through his eyelashes, Ultimo let his slightly swollen lip fall from between his teeth.

"Would...you like to know the reason?" he asked cautiously.

Yamato looked up quickly, eyes slightly wide. He nodded quickly, maybe too quickly. "I'd like to know."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Ultimo readied himself. His legs quivered slightly and he looked pale. There was a soft tapping sound, and the alien opened his eyes quickly, antenna lowered to his hair. He relaxed slightly upon seeing Yamato pat the edge of the bed, inviting him to sit.

Stepping forward a few paces, the redhead lowered himself to the hard mattress edge. He relaxed slightly, reminding himself to breathe in and out, lest he have some sort of panic attack. Yamato waited patiently, unsure of what to say or if he should say anything at all.

After a moment, Ultimo felt calm enough to speak. "It...all started a few years back."

00000000000

aaaaaaaaaaaand yeah it sucked ass...very rushed, not exactly enjoyed or anything, but i just want to get over this chapter alreadyyyyyy...

omake~!

uru: (sitting all nobley) =^= (ice is dangling from his nose, tail and antenna) =^=

uru: dear diary, mood: apathetic...my life is spiralling downward...

yamato: well, he's kinda running from the cops-  
fushimi: dump him! D8 didnt i tell you not to associate with criminals! didnt i?  
yamato:...

yamato: well, he's kinda running from the cops-  
fushimi: what did he do?  
yamato: e-ehh?  
fushimi: well, if he's running, he had to have done something right? what was it? murder? rape? assisted suicide?  
yamato: Dl;; i-idk exactly...but mom, thats not the point...

yamato: well, he's running from the cops-  
fushimi: since when did you even have FRIENDS? let alone a badass criminal one?  
yamato:...thats cold mom ;_;

yamato: (sitting on couch all gloomily)  
fushimi: (walks by) still hung up over your mancrush?  
yamato: I'M NOT GAY MOM! ;A;

uru: sulking and writing poetry are my hobbies, i cant get through a hawthorne heights album without sobbing...boys keep breaking up with me, its never any fun! they say they dont like pussy, so stop acting like one...

uru: my life is just a black abyssss y'know? itss so dahrk...its suffocating me, grabbing a hold of me and tightening itss grip! tighter than a pair of my lil sister's jeans!  
jealous: ..?  
uru: ...which look great on me btw

yamato: zzz..zz...  
uru:...(steps down)  
floor: cheeeaaaater~  
uru: oAo;;; (steps)  
floor: liiiaaaaar~  
uru: (runs across floor) ;A; s-stfu!  
floor: helovedyou!  
uru:...;_; (sniffles)

uru: (steps into roo-)  
yamato: (beats with a bat) MOM! MOM! THERES A ROBBER!  
uru: djsakdnsjka! X x

uru: (sneaks into a mansion) =w= safe~  
?: (deep, ferocious growl)  
uru: oAo A A w-wha? ;A;  
?: (charges at) D8  
uru: (shrieks and starts to ru-)...(stares)  
chihuahua: D8 (barks at)  
uru: ...(blinks)  
chihuahua: D8 (keeps barking all yippy, bounces each time)  
uru:...why is it shaking like tha- OHMYGAWDOW! ;A;  
chihuahua: (ripping tail to pieces) D8 (yippy barking)

uru: i wear skin tight clothes, while hating my life! if i said i liked girls, i'd only be half rig-  
jealous: (smashes the jukebox) ENOUGH D8 god!  
uru: ;A; h-hey, i wasnt done yet!  
jealous: no more! no more angst, only i can emo out!  
uru:...you just dont get me y'know  
jealous: (slaps into a wall) )8

end omake~


	16. Chapter 16

Sorry for the like, three month delay man. I was so writers blocked and nothing was turning out right and I was getting so bored of this story XD;; but its okay now, it'll probably update quicker this way.

Warning: AU to the max, shota (kinda), sensitive topics, (coughrapecough), OOC, mild language, slight lemon.

Inspiration: "music again" by adam lambert and "a cure" by emilie autumn. Pretty standard XD

disclaimer: not mine, never was, please dont sue~

and onward! I hope you enjoy~

0000000000000000000000

To understand the story, one needs to understand the backdrop. "The author matters just as much as the work he is creating," Ultimo explains. For his part, Yamato nods and pretends that he understands that logic. The room is quiet, the dim pulsating glow from the Orb casting shadows between the two. Ultimo has retrieved it and holds it in his bulky red hands, turning it around and watching it with blank eyes. His worn features smooth with the healing crystal ball, his frumpy feathers are once more brilliant and perky.

Ultimo had grown up as an orphan, a child of parents who had died in the many air raids of his time. The age was war torn, and little was spared the tragedy. Uru, who had been only seven when his parents had been taken away by a piece of concrete, found himself soliciting churches for much needed water and greenery.

All the places of worship, even the one where he once visited often, turned him down. Too many children had wound up homeless, many more needy than himself, and there was no more room for him. The once glorious fountains in the centers of the churches were now filled with dirty children who sucked water greedily through their still forming gills.

With nowhere's to go, the orphaned boy ambled past the towering buildings and spacious ponds that were now contaminated and dry. His people, once careless aristocrats who loitered in the afternoon showers, were now thin, dry people. Not only were their hides dry, but their hearts as well. He found no help in them.

It became easy to steal, he remembers. While he was a bird like alien and a water dwelling creature, he detested murder. Many other orphans had formed packs and terrorized the weak and lonesome of the city, devouring any who were foolish enough to leave their shelters. The sights of young children feasting on priests and teachers was terrifying and pushed the redhead to hurry out of the capitol.

The harbors were barren, hardly any trade ships moving in the slime caked oceans. Small reptiles skittered around the cold cement docks, eating whatever laid down to long. Uru was careful to sleep sitting up when he did sleep. He remembers that he once had a Zu'kchu(1) as a pet, with a long, shimmering body of green and blue. Now, those Zu'kchu kept him as their pet, it seemed.

He managed to find an abandoned factory, and quickly set up base behind a towering pile of dusty crates. It wasn't the plush carpets and fluffed pillows of his home, but Uru thought it was good enough. That first night, alone and for the most part safe, Uru had cried. Really, honest to god cried. For the life he had lost, for his parents whose bodies were now food for orphans no doubt, for his fish he hadn't fed, for his vegetables he hadn't eaten, for the world and then some.

Being alone caused a much needed change, in his opinion. He remembered stubbornly refusing food because it wasn't tasty, even though his mother was so thin and tired looking as she plated dinner. He remembered holding his blankets and dolls close and whispering to them that his dad was cruel. Uru remembered so many things...

Fish wasn't his favorite meal by far, but Uru learned to catch them, steal them, and like them. He learned that those reptiles that wanted to eat him were just as easy to eat as they were to eat you. Uru licked his lips whenever he managed to catch one, appreciating the taste of red meat more than fish.

He didn't know how many days passed, alone and eating Zu'kchu and Kizo(2) in his dark, dusty home. He does know that it was the day before a new election for a ruler whose face he didn't recognize, when he met his first major influence.

The boy was small and thin, a deep blue that rushed past him and into an alley. Uru, who had been stalking a Zu'kchu colony, had been furious when the reptiles had scattered. He narrowly avoided a group of pack hunting men as they chased down the small blue figure, watching them in confusion. Was that an arachnid just now? He wondered. How strange...

It wouldn't be wise to go see, he thought. Those very hunters would probably be returning for himself soon, and this propelled him to stand and begin to walk away. A body smashed into him, sending the redhead toppling, and ruined his plans.

Turning quickly, ready to claw the offender to pieces, the redhead froze. The thin, blue arachnid boy was hiding his face in Uru's chest, shaking and whimpering, holding him tightly with his four arms. Frowning, the redhead wondered what to do. The pack hunters returned, gold and green and red marking informing him that they were from the east side of the city. How wonderful...he thought dryly.

"Eh, lookit dat!" a short, pudgy male squawked, pointing.

Another, his curled markings labeling him a Kizochu(3), cackled. "Two! Two boss! What should we do with em?"

A thick, burly giant stepped forward. He wasn't of Uru's race, that he could be sure of. From his muscular build, Uru was sure he was from the northern part of the galaxy, but he wasn't sure what planet exactly. He grinned crookedly. "That ones a _y'know_, ain't he? Like Ti."

Ti, the Kizochu from before, wrinkled his nose. "Please don't tell me we're gonna rape em." 

"I dunno, he's real pretty ain't he?"

"Yeah, but dude, he's a _kid..._"

Uru didn't give them the chance to debate ethics. In a fluid motion, he shoved the arachnid boy off of him. The blue boy stilled still, terrified, and watched as the redhead rammed into the bulky male. Everyone was still for a moment before a murky yellow began to pour from their boss's belly. Uru stepped back quickly, sinking into a fighting stance, daring any of the males to step forward.

They stared at the man as he sputtered, fell and died, then back to the redhead whose chest and mouth they had previously been eying. He spun the knife around, the direction of the ragged blade edge making slicing a more painful and swift end.

In satisfaction, Uru watched the pack shriek and run. Buzzards, the lot of them, he thought. Leaning down, he wiped his knife off on the dead man's raggedy shirt. The arachnid watched him, his bright pink eyes both shocked and amazed. He sat with two arms poised to defend his face, but the gesture began to slowly fall. When Uru stood, his arms returned to the position.

Frowning, the redhead walked over with slow, measured steps. He slipped the knife into his worn black bib, and held out a hand to the other alien. The arachnid stared at the pinkish hand, examining Uru's eyes briefly. Uru didn't bother to smile, knowing that so many hunters and rapists did that to win over the trust of children nowadays. As if comforted by the lack of familiarity, the blue boy grasped the redhead's hand with a hand, another grasping his forearm.

Slowly, he was hauled up, and stood shakily on his four feet. Uru tilted his head, noting that the boy must only be around...what, five? Uru was twelve now (he knew this, because elections were every five years), and seemed to tower over the boy. A quick glance at the markings around the arachnid's chest and hips told him he wasn't a boy at all, and Uru felt relieved. He hadn't met another Kizochu with a level head in years. Most were either prizes in packs or sold themselves on the streets in the capitol.

On the way back to the factory, he had gathered a small bit of information from the young Kizo(4). His name was Shitto, he was ten years old, and had just recently been orphaned. He wasn't a very capable fighter or hunter, being so newly abandoned, but Uru felt like with training, he could become one. It didn't help that Uru was so lonely and desperate for a companion.

Every day, they went out and hunted, first on tiny Zu'kchu, then on larger Shu(5). He had been hesitant to move on to larger prey so quickly, as these spat tar that blinded and had a bite that poisoned. However, they needed food, and Uru was growing tired of babying Shitto. That first hunting trip brought them past the safety of the harbor, to the more filthy side of the docks.

Shitto had followed nervously, holding knives close to himself. It had only been a month since he'd learned to use them, the thought of hunting something more adept at killing was terrifying. But Uru, so much slighter and thin than his own bulky form, looked quite confident. How could he be such a coward? He scolded himself irritably. If such a small, helpless looking creature could boldly walk up to a Shu, why couldn't he?

As Shitto would soon come to realize, Uru was far from helpless. The first Kizo fell heavily, dead and bleeding profusely from its torn open throat. The redhead shook his head to brush his musty bangs away and squared his shoulders before he bent down, grabbed the heavy corpse, and slung it over a wide shoulder. Shitto felt like an idiot for a long moment.

The first Shu he came across was a towering female, wide, thick toes and shoulders with a head that looked almost too small for its girth. However, when the reptile let out a low hiss, the arachnid could see the twelve rows and inches of razor sharp teeth and knew that small or not, the mouth could more than easily devour him. Shitto froze hum, knives quivering in his bulky hands, eyes dilated in terror.

Uru took one glance at the situation and carefully approached the Shu, heading for its side and signaling for Shitto to mimic his tactic. Gulping, the arachnid did as said, moving almost jerkily across the Shu's train of vision. The beast watched them warily, murky green breath pouring from her mouth, big purple eyes watching their every move. Just one wrong move could end disastrously.

Then, with barely a warning, Uru dove forward, taking a great leap and launching himself onto the Shu's back. She immediately began to buck and writhe, and the redhead thrust his jagged knife into her thick hide to stay on. Shitto took a step back, wide pink eyes watching the seemingly insane action in mild horror. Glancing at his novice of a companion, the redhead briefly gestured.

"Go for her side! She cant turn quickly enough to attack you!"

Was he fucking kidding? Shitto stared blankly, the wind tossing his long, dirty hair. It became evident that Uru was entirely serious when he shrieked once more for assistance. Gulping, the young boy eyed his thick knives, and the equally thick hide, yellow and blue markings writhing across the Shu's side. What could he do?

Shitto dove forward, knives at the ready.

000

A year passed, the two Kizochu's peacefully coexisting. Their space behind the dusty boxes was cleaner, now adorning tack-on pictures with choppy ink and clay scribbled across the green paper. Due to the now much calmer society, trade began to once again pick up, and with it, their acquisitions did as well. Two thick pillows from the southern continent lay against the floor, a thick rug beneath them. In the corner was a thick quilt, and even a lamp made from plants deep within the ocean.

By all accounts, the two orphans certainly made due and lived decently. Of course water was still always a problem, but Uru comforted himself by reminding himself daily that they at least had food and warm blankets. Once, Shitto had even secured several packages of clothing. Uru's moth eaten bib was now a thin black shirt, his pants a baggy hakama of sorts. Shitto as well adorned new clothing, from a hakama (the only thing that would fit him) to a loose tank top. Whatever hid their markings was well received, as now a Kizochu was more than just a prize, but a wanted government asset.

Because of the long wars, their population was exceedingly smaller. The remedy? To breed. The last ruler had set a date for when a certain scent would be released from every temple and government building. On this day, all were let out of work and anyone with the right papers was permitted to stay the night with a Kizochu. Of course, the Kizochu had no say in the matter, now being public property.

Uru felt disgusted by the lack of respect towards the sacred citizens of the northern continent, but what could he really do? Instead of rioting or risking his life, he simply chose to live in seclusion and hide his markings. Despite the much more relaxed times, the treatment of society's lesser races was appalling. Arachnid's were blamed for much of the war and any spotted nearby were often drowned (it was often a spiteful joke that arachnids couldn't swim or breathe in water like Uru's race could.).

But still, despite the mistreatment they faced, Uru and Shitto lived a decent life. Very little went on outside of their playing, hunting and occasional theft. Both orphans were comfortable with this, and it wasn't until the second holiday of The Scents, that something changed.

000

The sounds of waves and rusty machinery echoed through the old warehouse. From above them, broken down lifts and moving floors creaked in the ocean breeze. A skittering creature moved about somewhere in the old metal building. Shitto couldn't sleep.

Something in his lower belly was tingling and jittery, demanding he move to accommodate the feeling. Nothing would stop the chilly feeling that raced through his body, nor the following heat wave. Next to him, Uru wasn't much better. He squirmed in the bedding, face red and eyes closed tightly as he fought to sleep. At some point, they both kicked their respective fold of blankets away, desperate for relief from the heat that was beneath their skin.

"I feel awful..." Uru whined, rolling onto his belly and pressing himself into the rug. His tail flicked about restlessly, feathers whispering with each wave.

Shitto chewed his lower lip and mimicked the movement, though his own deflated backside simply hung there. He watched Uru's tail with hazy pink eyes, tongue ghosting over his lips. "M-Me to..." he mumbled.

The near silent warehouse felt deafening, blood rushing around in each of their heads. It was no secret what was wrong, though neither had the knowledge to fix the issue. When the Scent law had been passed the previous year, neither had yet to reach maturity in their respective species, so it hadn't been a problem. Now however...

The redhead took a deep breath and fought to at least fall asleep. His chest would have none of this however, pulsating almost wildly with every shudder. He had long since removed his shirt, the strange liquid that poured from his chest and lips becoming too messy for him to stand. The warm liquid spread over his chilled chest, warming his rosy skin.

A hand brushed against his bumpy shoulder, making the redhead jump. Glancing quickly at Shitto, Uru silently demanded what that unnecessary touch was for. His hazy, glazed eyes found the arachnid's and he immediately stilled, feeling uncomfortably hot. The darker boy squirmed and his misty pink eyes watched him carefully as he began to squirm closer. Uru watched him, unsure and uneasy with this closeness, but not objecting.

Pushing himself up by his thick arms, Shitto leaned forward and dragged his thin tongue across the redhead's shoulder. Instantly, sparks of pleasure shot through Uru's damp body, tugging a shaky gasp from his slick lips. Eyes wide, the redhead glanced at his darker friend, who shyly continued to lick him.

"S-Shitto, what...?" he whimpered, suckling his lower lip to force back a moan.

It only served to make his chest pulsate harder. Shitto rolled the redhead onto his back with a gentle shove, straddling him wordlessly. His cheeks were a bright pink, and the older Kizo felt his own cheeks darken at the action.

"I-I...you look..."

Uru almost laughed at the frustrated expression his friend wore. Words had never been the arachnid's strong point. Reaching up, he cupped the boy's warm cheeks, careful of the slits where his fangs hid.

They shared a long, nervous silence, watching each other with barely hidden need. They were aware that this was entirely because of the Scent law and they knew that if they continued it could end badly. At the same time, the aching needs in them stretched past mere arousal.

Gently, Uru tugged Shitto's face down and pressed their lips together. The arachnid shuddered, the feeling of slick, gooey liquid against his thin lips driving a shot of pleasure through his middle. Whimpering, he pressed himself fully against the shuddering redhead, relishing in the warm liquid that spread and clung to their chests.

Hands explored shakily, lips pressed against sensitive areas and tongues darted out to taste said areas. The normally silent factory was alive with gasps and moans, whining sounds that only intense pleasure could inspire bouncing from the boxes. Echoes of heavy breathing reached to even the most remote corners of the building, only the boxes and broken cranes witnessing this private moment.

000

"Wait, wait, _wait._"

Ultimo blinked, face beet red. Glancing away from the orb in his hand, he eyed Yamato's mortified expression. "Y-Yes?"

Face red, the brunette asked, "I-Isn't Shitto...Isn't that _Jealous_?"

Nodding slowly, the redhead glanced away. "W-Well, yes..."

"You _fucked_ JEALOUS?"

Snapping his head up, the redhead furrowed his eyebrows in mild unease and voice raising in pitch. "N-No! Only...w-well, only couples have sex. We just..."

"Please," Yamato muttered, raising a hand to stop the alien. "Please do not go any further on that. I'll have nightmares."

Scoffing, the redhead looked away in apparent offense. "Whatever..."

A long silence stretched out between the two, before Yamato nervously prompted the redhead to continue the story. After much feather grooming (due to an insulted pride) the redhead continued as asked.

000

Things between the two orphans hadn't changed much after the minor petting session. Aside from the occasional repeat of the actions, Uru and Shitto actually got along fairly well. If anything, they became closer. It wasn't odd to see the two cuddling, licking each others cheeks or even winding their tails together. Or, Uru did the tail wrapping since Shitto only had a deflated egg sack to work with.

With their growing relationship, the economy and the city grew as well. No longer was the capitol in disrepair nor were there roving packs of hunters and rapists. The Scent law had long since passed away by the time Uru turned fourteen and the northern continent was once again prosperous.

However, with this prosper came the new traffic around the docks and harbors. No longer did Kizo and Zu'kchu roam the area for the orphans to eat. What was more nerve wracking, was the two had overheard that their factory was being auctioned off...

The threat of losing their hideout and safe home drove a steak through their hearts. Where would they go? What would they eat? Dragging their belongings out in the thick blankets and rugs they had amassed, the duo searched out a new place to call home.

There was no such place.

Eventually, they found an alleyway that they would frequent, somewhere between the slums and the middle class sections of the city. It was decently secure, they would mostly be safe. But not like in their factory...

Food was harder to get where the trade process wasn't as prominent, Uru soon learned. Shitto often came back bruised and beaten from his missions to at least secure water. It soon became apparent that arachnids were no longer socially accepted as well. In fact, the entire war at present was blamed on them. Shitto, hurt, often took comfort in his maybe-partner's arms.

Their forced poverty and the recent racist attitudes were creating quite a problem for the duo. The once thickly built arachnid was now thin and his backside hung low and slightly withered. Uru himself was now thin and bony, and his gills were becoming papery with the lack of water. Something had to change.

That change came in the form of a large, chubby foreigner and a small child. At first glance, it was a merchant selling his beliefs and a child who calmly stood back to listen to his caretaker. However, if one knew the child's race, they'd probably take back the label "child" all together.

Uru had been running an errand for a rich citizen (anything to make ends meet ends) when he happened upon the man. With his great belly and carefree atmosphere, it was hard to believe he spoke the things he did.

"War is upon us! The Red ones are once again going to attack, our tentative existence will be eradicated! Now is the time for young men and women to enlist in our great Fleet!"

The young male behind him glanced around, papers in his short arms held to his thin torso. In the coming years, Uru would come to know this boy as Regla, the second seated official in their government, and the one who would ultimately sentence him to death. But for now, he was simply a stranger whose eyes caught Uru's.

Tensing, the redhead bit his jade lip. The military always offered unbelievable perks and upsides, even for people with nothing to their name. If he and Shitto could join...Walking up carefully to the duo, putting aside his errand, Uru smiled cautiously.

"Hello Schama(6)~" he greeted, almost sinking into a bow.

The man smiled widely, raising a hand. "Please! There's no need for such formalities."

Glancing through his messy bangs, the redhead nodded slowly. "I was wondering about those papers and your words just now." he gestured a dirty hand to the boy's mass of thin green paper.

The smile shrunk just a little bit, but the man nodded. "Were you interested? Its nice to see young men interested in our service! Tell me about yourself!" he said, looping an arm around Uru's thin, bumpy shoulders.

Feeling uncomfortable, the redhead sheepishly moved away from the thick arm, smiling weakly. "I'm Uru, 14 and I am below poverty level." he didn't mind spewing this, it was customary when asking for a job. "A friend and myself desperately need food and water, and..."

"You poor thing..." the man hummed, genuinely saddened it seemed. "Where is your friend? As long as he fits the requirements, you'll both be able to join."

"Is there a physical...?"

A shake of the head. "Not for foot soldiers. Anything above a captains level however..."

He could hide whatever he needed then, he decided. It wasn't as if he was shooting for anything higher than just a soldier. Smiling brightly, Uru clapped his hands like a child. "I'd like two of those papers if possible~"

Two thin slips of shimmering green paper were handed to the redhead, who took them lovingly. Paper of this quality was only issued by the government, so he was sure it would be okay to take them. Heading back to his errand, the redhead hummed delightedly.

It was only after leafing through the papers that he realized something was wrong with his plan. While browsing the golden symbols (which he could barely read due to never learning proper language skills) his bright emerald eyes fell upon the list that claimed you ineligible for recruitment.

One was being a Kizochu. That wasn't a problem, because he and Shitto had learned dozens of ways to hide their gender. In fact, there were even kits to tape your chest shut and stuff it with skin colored adhesive. That wasn't really anything to worry about. It was the fact that arachnid's were on the list that halted his thoughts.

You couldn't hide your race when you were so overwhelmingly that race, Uru remembers thinking. There was no way to change Shitto, not without hurting pride or body parts. And Uru refused to do that to his friend and maybe-partner.

But where did that leave Uru? His grumbling belly and sore gills reminded him that Shitto wasn't the only one who needed food and water. Fear and frustration lodged itself in his throat and for a moment, the redhead might have cried. It was a fleeting feeling however, and he returned home to Shitto. Returned to his lover and his alleyway and his empty cooking pot and his worn out quits and his empty water container.

He wanted to puke.

000

Several days went by, the shimmering emerald sheets of paper now folded and hidden away in Uru's threadbare shirt. The nagging thought that the military wasn't permanent stayed in his mind, but the thoughts of hurting his friend were stronger. He couldn't do it.

But he could earn enough money, food and water for the two of them to live happily and comfortably for the remainder of their lives. He only needed to serve two years and he could return home with money. Shitto would never be bullied again, his backside would swell with food and eggs, he'd be happy. Uru's papery gills would stop aching, his hopes would come true...

Watching the arachnid bite into a three day old Kizo and suck its fluids from the body reminded him that Shitto wouldn't be able to join him for those two years. His friend would be alone, barely able to support himself with no one to hold him or offer support. He'd be at the mercy of a racist city who would drown him.

He could barely keep down his own week old Kizo. Shitto noticed the sick expression his friend wore and retracted his long, thick fangs from the dead reptile. "Uru...? Whats wrong?"

Uru shook his head, smiling weakly. "Ah~ nothing, the mold just tastes bad." he chuckled, pointing to a yellow patch of scales and meat, and the arachnid wrinkled his nose. He understood perfectly.

It continued this way until there was no rotten meat to blame anymore, and Shitto was piling their meager earnings up to search out a doctor for his friend. What could Uru possibly have done?

Resting a hand on the blue boy's thick shoulder, the redhead bit his lip and didn't meet his eye. "There's something we need to talk about."

Setting down the worn bronze coins he had been holding, Shitto tilted his head. "What?...You have such an unhappy expression." he mumbled.

Uru normally would have laughed at that, but he couldn't find it in himself. "I'm thinking of joining the military."

A pause. Another. Silence gripped them, threatening to engulf the two orphans. Shitto stared through grimy bluish black hair at his friend blankly, pink eyes wide. After a moment, Uru noticed the arachnid began to rub his fangs against the inside of his cheeks nervously, a clear sign he was thinking. Sitting up straight, the blue boy tilted his head.

"How long have you been thinking about it?"

The response was quiet and nervous, but Uru was glad to have a response at all. "For about a week..."

"What prompted it?"

"The fact that we need food and money." he didn't mention his gills, understanding that wasn't fair to bring up. "For two years in the service, we could become middle class and rich."

Shitto's face was blank, watching the redhead carefully. Cheeks pinking under the attention, Uru moved on quickly, stuttering a little. "A-And I could list you as my..." a dark flush spread over his cheeks. "As my mate and then you could take money from my checks and save it or use it and..."

The arachnid's face was violet by now, the mere idea that Uru would consider him as such making a heat grow in his chest. "Y-You know there's a war, right? And service is bumped to four years during war."

Glancing away, the redhead felt helpless suddenly. "But that's more money then, don't they increase payment during war?"

"If you _survive_ maybe." came the quiet response.

Another silence engulfed them, causing both to squirm. As insulting as that statement could have been, Uru realized that it was a fact that he needed to take into consideration. War killed, and it killed easily. The chances of survival were slim, at least for them they were. After another long pause, Shitto sighed, looking back to their money piled up in front of him. He reached for the pillow they hid it in with a frown.

"Lets think a bit harder on it first...Its a huge change, so..."

Uru nodded, smiling a little. "Right."

It wasn't as easy as they thought, however, to ignore this topic. As the days moved by, the shouts and lectures in the town square drew the orphan's minds back to the possibilities and the likelihood of failure. The thoughts were there to stay, it seemed.

00000000000

OMG finally )8 you'd think this was some incredibly difficult chapter ...it kinda was tbh, I was so bjhsba about what to do or how to start. Now it seems like it should have been obvious XD

translations/explanations:

Zu'kchu: a small reptile (the smallest there), like an iguana on our planet. They eat meat and are quite vicious when not common house pets. The rich and middle class own them, however dangerous they are.

Kizo (1): a larger reptile, a buzzard of sorts. They dont hunt really, but they will eat whatever is left out. That includes sleeping people. These are often used as meat in recipies.

Kizochu: an intersex, so to speak. Theres three sexes in their world, male, female, and kizochu. They got this name due to their method of reproduction, which you'll see later. Like intersexual humans, they can lean towards male or female, and uru and jealous just so happen to lean towards male.

Kizo (2): slang and shorthand for kizochu. Can always be linked to the reptile, and used as an insult.

Shu: a huge, bear sized reptile. It can shoot tar from its mouth and like a trex, its bite is extremely infectious. It is dangerous and hard to kill, but could feed a family for at least a week.

Schama: a word directly related to "sama". Due to their history with asia, uru's planet had adopted many japanese words into their language.

Ahahah, drama shall continue later ne. for now, you at least have an idea where uru's life started, which is a pretty big anchor point for later events.


	17. Chapter 17

its been like a year man. Wtf. I blame that mostly on my lack of fandom urges. But eh, hopefully theres still a crowd willing to read this ridiculously late update lD cuz I worked my ass off on it. Lifes been a bit hectic as well, between my attempts to make a webcomic and get through school and family life, so I do have excuses lD but eh, imma do my best to finish this!

Warning: ooc? Severe au here XD sensitive topics (rape) as well as uru-angst.

Inspiration: "a cure" by emilie autumn, "music again" by adam lambert and "outlaws of love" also by adam lambert.

Rating: a high T, but nothing happens so...

disclaimer: I own nothing except for the world I created for the characters to live in XD not earth mind you A that'd be intense though.

Just one more chapter set in the past and then we can get back to the normal plot XD which is a relief, because this is hard to do man as fun as it is, its challenging.

Anyhoody, ONWARD C8

00000000000000000000

"I had no idea how to explain to Shi-...Jealous that I was leaving." Ultimo murmured, eyes misty with past regrets as he gazed at the ceiling. "I had no idea how to tell him, because no matter what the reason, to him it would and will always be the same."

Yamato frowned, blinking. "Why? You were going to do it for money for the two of you, right?"

The redhead glanced at his comrade, antenna drooping in his face. "Would you care what the reason was if your mom left you at birth?"

Grimacing, Yamato shrugged. "Thats entirely different..."

"Not really." the redhead hummed, rolling the Spirit Sphere back and forth between his hands. "No matter what the scenario, being abandoned for whatever cause, is always painful." he let the Sphere rest in one hand, just watching it. "You know, he never cried really. Not before then. Having someone to support you emotionally, some people feel its more important than any monetary benefit."

"Thats..." Yamato wrinkled his nose. "Whats the point if you die?"

Shrugging, Ultimo chewed his dry lower lip. "When theres someone to keep you grounded, sometimes it feels like you have all the riches of the world." he sighed, shoulders slumping. "It wouldnt make sense if you had never felt that pain before." he glanced at Yamato and smiled wryly. "Then again, I'm sure you have..."

Looking away, the brunette felt memories of his long forgotten father rise up. Closing his eyes briefly, the brunette mumbled, "S-So what then? How did you...well..."

The smile vanished from Ultimo's face, and he turned his attention back to the Sphere that rested in his hands. "Well..."

000

"Y-You cant go. What will I do? Where will I..."

Uru looked at the ground, expression lost and uncertain. "I-I...S-Shitto, I dont know."

The blue boy stomped a foot, expression betrayed, tears forming in his eyes. "Yet you'll still leave!"

"I have to!" Uru cried, squeezing his eyes shut, biting his lower lip. "I-I cant pass up an opportunity like this, n-not when...when..."

A silence drifted between them, Shitto's sniffling loud even in the busy cityscape. His messy long black hair fell over an eye as he squeezed both shut. "I dont need any fancy house or food." he spat, balling his fists the best he could. "I-I'm not some desperate female, I can live without those."

Taking a deep breath, Uru reminded himself that shouting back wouldnt fix anything. "Everyone needs food and shelter Shitto. You may not want me to go, but..." he blushed and pressed a hand against his own chest. "but as the one who is...is..." blushing darker, he felt his tail flick nervously.

Blush skittered across the arachnid's face and he looked away. "As your mate?" he mumbled.

It felt like steam poured out from the redhead's ears at the title. "A-As your mate, I am obligated to keep us both happy and safe. I...I cant just turn my back on your needs." he explained, eyes sad and desperate.

Squeezing his eyes closed, the raven haired boy whispered, "They arent the needs I am worried about."

Frowning, the redhead felt a tug at his chest. Guilt and longing wrestled each other, with practicality attempting to jump in the middle of things. "You'll be fine without me Shitto. Four years will fly by." he promised, smiling weakly. "The money I make will be sent to you and...and I will visit you as well."

Shoulders quivering, Shitto didnt reply. Uru gently reached out and pulled his friend and lover into his arms, hugging him tight. After a moment, the arachnid rested his forehead against the redhead's shoulder, breathing slowly to calm himself. Uru nuzzled his head as he murmured.

"Dont worry, it will be over before you know it."

000

It was hell. Whoever said that the military built character was either a masochist, or the sadists who commanded the foot soldiers. Uru was sure it was both. He panted, feeling the bile rise in his throat. The toilet seat was chilly under his heated hands, the now short and blunt nails scraping against the glass container weakly.

They took away his nails. Bandages were wrapped tightly and mercilessly around the mere stumps of nail that remained. The explanation? His nails were natural and not shaped correctly, according to the doctors. And what doctors said was law, when they were examining new recruits.

It wasnt the agonizing pain of having his nails half ripped out that made him so sick however. No, it was when, despite his attempts to conceal his chest, he had been caught. It was when the doctor, a slippery middle aged man with messy black hair and overgrown front teeth, offered to keep it a secret.

For a price.

Everything had a price. Here, as the redhead would come to learn, a Kizochu was not a person. Due to recent government propoganda, a Kizochu was little more than a slave meant for reproduction. Needless to say, the doctor wasnt looking to have a family.

Uru vomited up the meager breakfast they had served him, imagining that the bitter taste of the man's seed had fled him as well. That...was not possible, he thought bitterly. The worst part was, the man had promised him proper adhesive and coverup, as well as secrecy. Once again, the quality of help was determined by the favors he was given.

How could Uru ever tell him no, when Shitto would starve if he did? He heaved again, squeezing his eyes closed as he felt the vomit cling to his face and bangs. He had never felt so violated before in his life.

Because of his...favors, Uru was passed along like any other male would have been, and shortly, he would be cleaned and fed lunch, then run through the basic layout of the building. He had yet to fully experience the military, but Uru figured one day of trauma was more than enough for right now. Pushing himself away from the bowl, he flushed the toilet and staggered away towards a sink.

Staring at himself, he shuddered, running the water and washing his face and bangs quickly. He'd be bathed soon anyway, no need to do anything major.

000

"Hey!"

Uru turned out of reflex, frowning as he noticed another male grinning from across the room. Where as Uru was thick and tiny in size and build, this male was tall and thin. A weak looking plated tail waved lazily, thin feathers covering it. Antenna lowering against his freshly washed and groomed hair, the redhead felt unease wash over him. Males were never good news, in his oppinion.

"Hello..." he greeted, drawing his green, flaky lips into a thin line.

The male grinned wider, wrapping an arm around the smaller's shoulders. "You're a rooky, aincha?" he didnt even give the redhead a moment to speak. "Well so'm I! Names Natl, came straight from the North District."

That would explain the pale hair and tiny build, Uru thought. He shook off the other's hold, smiling weakly. "U-Uru, from the docks." he didnt remember where he was originally born anymore.

A look of surprise crept over Natl's face. "Really? Thats a scary fuckin place to be." he laughed and patted Uru's back firmly.

Uru almost growled, trying to straighten his broad feathers out. "It wasnt that bad. The inner cities were worse."

"I guess." the silverette hummed. "Hey, you know what we're doin now? I was trashed last night, didnt hear em."

Trashed, it figured. Wrinkling his nose, the redhead stepped away. "We're honing our sense of direction and our nerves."

Natl raised an eyebrow. "Okaaay...but what're we DOING?"

Idiot, Uru thought. "We're going through a maze."

"Thats it...?"

Uru shrugged, admittedly a little confused as well. He could see the purpose behind this, but he failed to see how they would need the clunky armor they were given. Fidgeting with the strap to his breast plate, the redhead watched as the group of foreigners gathered in the hall.

Dozens of languages and color schemes bedazzled the main hall, almost overpowering. Many of the alien creatures had thick, metal paged books out, scouring the shimmering pages for the wisdom they sought. Uru himself had never been very religious nor wise. He simply did what was needed, he had no desire to think deeply into thoughts that werent his own. This would change with time, but for now, he was still a petulant child at heart.

The loud voices slowly muted themselves as a young man strolled into the room, thin and tall. His eyes were narrowed and slitted like a feline's, and a long, thin tail swayed slowly, the plume of feathers on its end hypnotizing. He was of the upper class, being colored brightly with paints and cloth, his feathers pale to signify he was of good breeding.

Tossing his head slightly, brushing away thick blond hair, his gaze seemed to capture the large foreign mass before him. Uru was instantly on edge, remembering how the officers once stormed his own bedroom. He calmed himself, reminding himself that this man wasnt here to kill him.

"All of you have been gathered here for a simple test of wits and endurance." he spoke, voice confident and powerful. "You have all been given special armor, that when worn in this maze, will trigger an enemy to appear when you have reached a wrong turn."

A thick, sturdy man stepped along side him, the same man who had recruited Uru. In his officer's uniform, he looked almost menacing. In his hand, he held a glass box, and inside the box was a blue ball of what looked to be static energy. It wailed at the walls, desperate to get out and attack the group.

The man glanced around the hall to see the result of this show. Satisfied, he continued. "These are known as Twice Lifes, and they are drawn to the blood of others of their race. Your armor is coated in that blood."

Uru went pale, looking down at his armor frantically, antenna flat against his hair. The crowd seemed to panic, but hushed quickly. The man continued. "There are two ways to get rid of a Twice Life. The first is to remove your armor. If you do this however, the maze is programmed to kill you." a hush fell over the crowd, all wide eyes and pale faces. "The second is the reach the end of the maze and secure a spot in the safe room at the end. It fits half the size of your group, so you will need to be brief in this maze."

Already Uru was thinking of ways to cheat the system, though his heart beat like a drum. Could he really survive this...? He wasnt given a chance to say otherwise, as the gate to the maze opened and the crowd was herded into the winding paths. As fear wedged itself into his throat, Uru heard the last of the man's words.

"And if you happen to fail this test...well, you're on your own."

Dear Maiden, what have I gotten into...? he thought.

000

Explosions echoed in the dense jungle, driving Uru's heart into his throat. The heat seared through his thin metal armor, his body crying out for water. However, there was no time for water. Panting hard, he slunk behind a tree, peering out around it. Several soldiers dropped like flies almost instantly, their cries echoing in his mind. Swallowing his own cry, Uru closed his eyes and held his gun closer to his body.

It had been three months. Shitto sent him letters and every last paycheck he got was sent to the arachnid. He had been hopeful that he wouldnt get deployed, despite the war in the southern continent. These hopes circled the drain when he was crowded on to a hovercar and lead away across the ocean.

In the last two weeks, he hadnt heard a word from Shitto. Uru got the feeling he may never again. Swallowing, he told himself it wasnt the time to think of such sad things, because a distraction may end their affair all together right now.

Silence draped the jungle like a thin sheet, lingering and setting Uru's nerves on edge. The firing had stopped and anyone left in the platoon had either retreated or taken cover. Their ranks were a mess. The captain, a thin, boney fellow, had fallen almost immediately, giving away the ambush. It was a miracle anyone survived, the way the arachnids could climb and fight. Shitto could have been here, Uru reminded himself, he would have been a great help. Surely another arachnid wouldnt be fired upon.

Thoughts raced through the redhead's brain in fleeting waves. There one minute, gone in a second. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down. Fighting arachnids was no different than training his mate in combat. Sure, these fellows may be trained and skilled, but their weapons were haphazard and so were their armor. The only problem was they had such thick skin...

A blow to the chest or the waist would end them, Uru reminded himself. Arachnids and Kizochu's were close relatives. Knowing his own body meant he knew at least some of theirs. Steeling himself, Uru slung his gun over his shoulder and adjusted his armor. He had but one shot to take down any of the arachnids. If they hit him, he'd be dead before he hit the ground.

Slowly, he began to crawl among the foliage, almost silently. Uru's mind soared back to when he had, at one time, hunted bear sized Shu's easily and skillfully. At once, a kind of peace fell over him. Regardless of the arachnids armor or their similarities to his mate, Uru knew he could do this.

000

No one had seen it coming. Standing stock still, Uru stared blankly ahead. The three arachnids who he had cleanly slain lay on the ground, still twitching from nerves that refused to shut down. At his feet lay the remaining eight platoon members.

The attack had come out of nowhere, mere minutes after his victory. The ground was slick with pale green blood, reminding Uru how easy it was to die. In front of him stood a tall, bent green creature. Wild black hair was splayed every which way, and his thin, long mouth bore a twisted grin. Uru felt his stomach begin to churn wildly, realizing that he'd been spared on purpose.

If he knew now what he knew then, he would have charged that creature and stabbed him until there was nothing left of his body. He would burn the remains and kick the ashes into a river. As it was, Uru could barely move. Fear and a mild wound across his shoulder left him immobile.

Who was this person, bathed in blood and sunlight?

Uru never got that answer, as the sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind him. The creature glanced towards the edge of the small field and sneered. Without a word, he turned and leaped into the air, allowing thin, filmy wings to catch a breeze and soar away.

Heavy boots crashed through the veiny undergrowth, interrupting the short silence that engulfed the area. Upon smelling his comrades, Uru allowed his quivering knees to buckle, and he fell without grace to the blood soaked ground.

The hours after the deaths, when Uru was dragged forcibly to the camp for treatment, were the longest hours in the redhead's life. There was no sound in this memory and there was too much color. Uru barely acknowledged the thin, curvy nurses who tended to him. Uru did however note they were Kizochus, something that amused him. So this was what his kind had been reduced to.

A mask was pressed to his face and Uru thought no more of death or slavery. He thought almost of nothing. The last thing he did recall thinking was that Shitto would be so indignant to hear how Uru slaughtered his kind.

000

"Hey."

Glancing up from his bland bedsheets, the redhead blinked slowly. Natl stood in the doorway of the barracks, a tray of food in his hands. His thin frame seemed to sag against the doorframe, giving away how tired he has. Uru had forgotten Natl even existed.

Uru sat up, waiting for the other to come closer. Slowly, the ivory haired young man did. Sitting across from the redhead on a bunk, Natl smiled slightly. He set the tray on the small nightstand that was between all bunks. Uru regarded the food with minor interest.

"You should eat y'know." Natl informed him, raising an eyebrow. "You'll get too thin and die at this rate."

Silence met his concerned statement. It had been several days since the redhead had truly eaten. Water was much more appreciated and indulged in. Sighing, the older boy frowned.

"Look, I know you feel bad. Hell, I knew those guys to. They were my friends to." he muttered, eyes darkening. "But you should be happy to be alive. Hell, be ecstatic, you're a fucking captain now!" he spat.

Uru regarded him with tired, lonely eyes. Why should he be happy to have gained a rank due to the death of friends? The death of his mate's people? Uru didnt see any cause for celebration over mindless killing. He never had.

Growing tired of the silence, Natl threw his thin, bony hands in the air. "My Maiden, you're hopeless!" he exclaimed.

Glancing away, the redhead almost felt bad for frustrating the young man. "Dont you have someone else to go preach to?" he mumbled.

All at once, Natl's expression darkened. Stiffly, the young man reached into his worn pants pocket, the same ones Uru had to wear every day, and withdrew a thick wad of envelopes. They were stamped all over with green ink, signifying they had been delayed multiple times. The address on the letters stopped the redhead's heart.

South Continent, North District was printed neatly by a machine on the envelope. Uru had no idea why it did, but he was terrified to find out. Even so, Natl tossed the treasured papers into the redhead's lap.

"They're from your mate, right?" the young man snapped. "Well, my mate died. The main city is under attack from its own citizens again." he mumbled, as if it were top secret. Perhaps it was. "Thats why your letters were returned."

Uru watched him warily, leafing through the envelopes. Most of them were torn open and taped shut. Had it been Natl who had done so? "Did you...?"

Raising an eyebrow, the ivory haired young man shrugged. "They were already opened. I peeked, but not at much."

The redhead glared half heartedly and cradled the letters to his chest. Someone had seen his personal life. Someone knew about Shitto. Someone knew his hopes and ambitions. It terrified him to think that of all the people to see it, it was Natl.

Standing up tiredly, the older boy stretched. "I'll leave you to it. I'll see you later, oh glorious captain."

With that, Uru was left alone. The papers in his hand crinkled slightly as he worried them nervously. Uneasily, he began to open them up and tug out the sheets of thin paper. "To Uru" they read, from "Shitto". Most mates shared last names, however, neither remembered theirs. Abandoned at such a young age, last names hadnt been a real priority at the time.

The first letter had been pleasantries, soft and easy and heart lifting. Uru vowed to keep that letter always, come hell or high water. The next few...were less than pleasant. They spoke of being beaten, of being chased, having the paychecks denied. Uru felt a swell of anger and unease build in his stomach. The last letter, which had been sent a few days after Uru had been deployed, held only a paragraph.

"I'm being taken away. They're going to drown us. I've been hurt so much already, why cant you return? I miss you, I'm scared. They gave me a day to have my last wishes carried out. Uru, I'm so scared...I'm so scared I'll die, or worse, I'll live and they'll try to do worse! They took everything, I cant seem to fight anymore...everything aches all the time, they told me I was carrying a child. You know whats terrifying? I...I don't even know if its yours right now. Its been that bad. Why is this happening...? Come back, I need you..."

The words "come back" had been written repeatedly in shaky lettering. The word "child" was just about carved through the paper. Everything came in slow waves of realization. For the last two weeks, Shitto had been alone, violated, and could be dead.

Dead.

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. _Dead._

Something broke inside Uru at that moment. The terror, the numb betrayal at someone else fathering his mate's child, the sorrow, it all vanished. It was as if his mind could not go where it needed to go, because if it did, he might not wake up the next morning.

For the first time in several days, Uru launched from bed and darted for the bathrooms. The glass toilet had never been so inviting to him before in his life. But no matter how much he threw up, Uru couldnt dislodge the anguish he felt in the back of his throat. He was certain nothing could.

After heaving up water, Uru sank to the dirty bathroom floor and cried. No one heard him or saw, so he had no problem with doing so. He leaned against the stall's wall and sobbed, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. Uru had only felt this sort of intense sorrow once in his life, when his parents had died and he'd been orphaned. It felt like he was that small child all over again, begging priests for water and being turned away.

When finally Uru stopped crying, he was too tired to move. At some point, another soldier had become annoyed and opened the door, about to snap. Upon seeing the tank full of vomit and the pale, half awake boy on the ground, help had been called. Once again, Uru was in the hospital tent, the same Kizochu nurses tending to him. There was a thick IV in his arm, feeding him steadily through liquids. Routinely, he was fed water.

For the next week, this would be Uru's life. Water and food in the morning, water at lunch and water and soup at night. Uru slept constantly, for sleep was the only way to escape the pain in his heart. No amount of water or pain medicine could fix it. Nothing could. He was living for nothing.

At some point in the week, possibly a tuesday or a thursday, a young man came to visit. He was thin and pale, but Uru recognized him as the same man from the training. He wore plain clothing, thick with armor beneath the fabric. His feathers were pale blues fringed with blacks and golds, flicking from time to time.

The young man surveyed the redhead, piercing blue eyes calm and lackluster, as if he were surveying a broken tool. He swung a leg over his knee and hummed.

"So you're the captain driving everyone crazy." he said slowly, voice smooth and rich.

Immediately, a great dislike was bred inside of the redhead. Uru didnt give the man the courtesy of a glare, simply choosing to ignore him. Raising an eyebrow, the young blond tilted his head.

"I'm assuming it doesnt matter to you, but I'm Musashi. I was one of the officers who trained your group." he explained.

Uru kept his gaze on the ceiling, a blank expression on his face. What did it matter if this man was here? He probably just wanted to send him out onto the field again. His stomach roiled. The redhead wasnt sure he could take that right now.

Musashi hummed, leaning back in his chair. "I dont mean to sound rude," he began, his tone casual but edged with seriousness. "but a Captain isnt a commodity that can be left alone. We need you and your skills. From what we've read, your mate was an arachnid, correct?"

So thats why his letters were kept and opened? To be used as fodder for war? Anger boiled in his veins. He wouldnt help. Uru refused to aid the war in this manner. A sigh escaped Musashi, who crossed his arms, frowning.

"We could offer benefits. Your mate would get protection and so would you."

Snorting, the redhead muttered, "Isnt that a bit late? Werent the arachnids attacked and executed two weeks prior?"

A frown settled on Musashi's face briefly. It was a serious frown, not a baffled one. "Actually, the jail holding them was attacked and almost everyone inside escaped. More than likely, your mate did as well."

Blinking, the redhead felt his chest heave with hope. Escaped? Almost everyone escaped? Shitto could be alive. However, he quickly stomped down that hope. What if this was a lie? It was certainly plausible. Why should they be honest?

As if he understood the skepticism clogging the redhead's mind, Musashi reached into a pocket and produced a sheet of yellowish paper. The writing was in cheap gold but the headline was in expensive green ink. Uru glanced uneasily at the paper, taking it gingerly. He skimmed the article, finding that his heart began to skip a beat with every new paragraph.

"Its what you wanted to hear, right?" Musashi hummed, smiling a bit. "Your mate is probably alive, more than likely has been all this time. If you aid us, we'll aid him."

Uru stared at the crinkled paper for a long moment, eyes welling. This was too good to be true, truth be told. But what else could he do? A part of himself criticized himself for believing this was true. Another part leapt for joy. He couldnt decide...

Without truly thinking, he murmured, "I'll do it."

A silence passed between the two. Musashi hummed thoughtfully, tilting his head. "Great. I'll begin preparations then." he stood, long tail swaying slowly. "I do hope you get well soon then."

Musashi smiled then. Uru couldnt take comfort in that smile, but he forced himself to. It was all he had left afterall.

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lD long much? Super long break equals hopefully quick updates! Not too much occurred in this chapter sadly, but the next chapter will get to the core of uru's crimes so keep reading~

omake!

shitto: b-but what will i do while you're gone! where will i go!  
uru: frankly my dear (puts on shades) i dont give a damn


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